The midfielder hopes that Barça takes a step forward in the Champions League
“Last year’s group looked like it would be more difficult than this year’s,” he says.
De Jong, like a good Dutchman, always speaks clearly. The midfielder has analyzed the moment that Barça is going through after the summer and its transfer market and has his sights set on the Champions League, a competition in which the Blaugrana have not yet recovered their tone. In the last two editions they were defeated in the group stage and were forced to play in the Europa League. Frenkie, in statements to Movistar, asks that this season everything changes.
“We haven’t qualified for the round of 16 in the last two years, so we can’t talk much. We have to show it on the field,” he argues when asked to analyze the group in which Barça will compete, with Royal Antwerp, Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk. Of course, he recognizes that “Last year’s group looked to be more difficult than this year’s“, something obvious considering that they played against Inter, Bayern and Viktoria Plzen. “We have confidence, but we have to show it,” he concluded on the subject.
De Jong, in Pamplona
| J. Ferrandiz
Individually, he believes that “I still have a lot to improve.” De Jong is showing great football at the start of the season, although he believes that he still has to continue growing. Hence, when he is questioned about Lamine Yamal, he also understands that he “has a lot of room for improvement.” In that sense, he considers that “he has something special, he is very young and can already give us a lot, but he has room to improve, like everyone else. If he continues like this and working, he has a very high ceiling.”