Former Barcelona star Eric Abidal has revealed that he played an important role in the club’s signing of midfield standout Frenkie de Jong.
De Jong has for his part of course been on the books of Barcelona for five years now.
After making a name for himself whilst on the books of Ajax in his home country of The Netherlands, the then-22-year-old was sought out by a whole host of the continent’s leading clubs.
At one point, it was French champions Paris Saint-Germain who were considered as outright favourites to land De Jong.
When all was said and done, however, Barcelona beat out the competition, to strike a deal with their counterparts at the aforementioned Ajax.
And, as alluded to above, playing a leading role in as much was none other than one-time Blaugrana stopper Eric Abidal.
Speaking in an interview with Free Foot on Wednesday, Abidal opened up on a conversation between he and De Jong back in 2019, during which he feels as though he convinced the Dutch international to turn down PSG, in favour of the Camp Nou:
“He told me that he had made his decision to go to PSG after a discussion with (Thomas) Tuchel. I told him that at Barça it’s the institution that signs you, not the coach.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
