Frenkie de Jong can become an era defining player for Barcelona, proclaims Xavi
Xavi Hernandez believes that Frenkie de Jong has the potential and talent to define an era at Barcelona and admitted that the move for the former Ajax star made him very happy. The midfielder signed for the club last summer but like most at Barcelona, he struggled to consistently impress.
A lot was expected from Frenkie de Jong when he eventually signed for Barcelona last summer, especially after his sensational performance for Ajax in the Champions League. The midfielder played a key role as the Dutch side reached the semi-finals before leaving for Barcelona but while he showed glimpses of his potential, De Jong struggled to impress. That has mostly down to the fact that both, Ernesto Valverde and Quique Setien, used the Dutchman all across the midfield.
Things have now clearly changed under Ronald Koeman with the 23-year-old now playing a key role in the former Netherlands head coach system at Barcelona. That has made a lot of fans happy, including Xavi as the Spaniard admitted that he believes De Jong could “mark an era at Barcelona”. The Camp Nou legend fur0000ther added that the midfielder is an “extraordinary footballer” and possibly one of the Netherlands’ best at Qatar 2022.
"When Barcelona signed Frenkie de Jong, it made me happy. I wished him good luck on Instagram, he responded very well, saying 'Thank you, it's an honour'. I consider him a footballer that can mark an era at Barcelona. Surely for Netherlands he will be one of the best players of his generation at Qatar 2022, without a doubt, he's still so young. I think he is an extraordinary footballer, he's not afraid of getting the ball in areas that make it difficult to turn, he's such a good player," Xavi told the 2022 World Cup's Instagram account.
“Obviously, Barcelona requires players to be at an excellent level, otherwise there's always criticism. When you arrive at Barcelona, you have Messi, Griezmann, Pique, Busquets, Ter Stegen, the best players in the world are on your team. And you need time to adapt to a different culture, different language. It was also difficult for me, for Iniesta as well, when we were younger at 20-23, it's hard at a big club to make a difference."
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