Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong slams media narratives – ‘Many people understand nothing about football’ | OneFootball

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has for the second time in two months slammed the media narratives around him and his performances. The Dutch midfielder has been outspoken about his treatment by the media, and what he feels is unfair criticism online.

De Jong is a key figure for the Netherlands at the World Cup, as he leads Ronald Koeman’s die Oranje into battle. The Dutch side secured their place in the knockout stages with a 5-1 win over Sweden on Saturday, in which de Jong played his part, following an injury scare. The 29-year-old has for some time been a divisive character in Barcelona though, despite consistently being a starter under every manager he has had.

‘I get the feeling many people don’t understand football’

Speaking to SBS6, de Jong was asked about the frequent criticism of him and his teammates. Marca quoted his words.

“I have the feeling that many people don’t understand anything about football. They watch it, but they don’t understand it, so to speak. That’s not a bad thing, because it allows everyone to talk about it, but it’s the truth.”

“I hear people say that I don’t give through passes, but that’s not true. They’re just not paying attention to the game. It depends on the game, but also on the moment. You can play the through pass, but in some situations it will always end up at the goalkeeper. Yes, I think some people find it hard to understand it. Maybe I should sit with them sometime. It also depends on the moment itself. If someone runs or not, how is he running.”

De Jong: No issue with criticism, but it’s exaggerated

Although it has been much more pronounced in Catalonia, the Dutch national team on the whole have received plenty of criticism from their national press.

“I think that, in general, in the Netherlands we could value the players a little more. Of course, you can criticise if you think someone is not playing a good game. That’s okay and we don’t have any problem with it either. But it’s often so exaggerated by the people here.”

Next season is likely to be the stiffest competition that de Jong has faced for his spot since arriving at Barcelona, with both Gavi and Marc Bernal capable of playing his role next to Pedri. Before that however, de Jong will no doubt be focused on the World Cup, as the Netherlands hope to make a deep run into the knockout stages.