Frenkie de Jong Responds to False Claims by Journalist
Frenkie de Jong has broken his silence – and he’s not pulling any punches.
In a candid interview with Barcelona’s club media, the Dutch midfielder directly called out journalist Gerard Romero, accusing him of spreading “false” stories and making it clear he will no longer stay quiet.
De Jong took particular issue with a claim that exploded last season: that he had refused to play for Barcelona in a Champions League match against Atletico.
“For example, Gerard Romero. He said, and he started all of this, that I refused to play against Atletico in the Champions League last year. That’s false. It’s false. It’s simply not true,” De Jong said.
He underlined how absurd he finds the idea that he would step away from a game of that magnitude.
“As I said, my dream is to play for Barca, especially in important Champions League matches. Of course I want to play. I don’t understand how you can say that I refused to play. And obviously, if people get angry and if that’s the only information they have, I understand. That’s why I’m explaining.”
The midfielder then widened the scope of his criticism, accusing Romero of building a narrative around him that has no basis in reality. One of the stories that particularly angered him was the suggestion that his relationship with the coach had broken down.
“Then he said that my relationship with the coach is very bad, which is completely false. I have a very good relationship with the coach. I talk to him a lot. You can ask him about all of this. It’s completely false.”
The same goes, De Jong insisted, for his ties with the club hierarchy. Reports of tension, punishment, or distance from the board? He rejected them outright.
“They’ve also said that my relationship with the club is bad, which is also not true, because I talk a lot with people at the club, with the directors and so on. Then they said I’m being punished. That was Gerard Romero again, and I want to mention it because I think he’s already told more lies in the past.
“But I’m not going to let it slide anymore, because he needs to understand that if he puts things out that aren’t true, I’m going to call him out on it.”
This was not a passing remark or a vague complaint about “the media.” De Jong named names, detailed the accusations, and set a clear line in the sand. For a player often perceived as calm and measured, the tone was striking: controlled, but clearly fed up.
Away from the storm around his image, De Jong also addressed his current situation on the pitch – or rather, off it. Recovering from a knee injury, he admitted that part of the reason for speaking now was to clear his head.
He said he wanted to “get that anger off his chest” so he can fully focus on his rehabilitation and do everything possible to return as quickly as he can.
Barcelona need him back. And now, De Jong has made it just as clear that he intends to come back on his own terms – on the pitch, and in the court of public opinion.
