Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has on Sunday hit back at the media, for their part in the long-term speculation surrounding his fitness, and wage packet alike.
De Jong’s reputation, of course, has long been under fire in Catalunya’s capital.
Whilst the Dutchman remains on the sidelines long-term, he has been accused of not making a sufficient effort to return to fitness.
Some outlets, in fact, have gone as far as to suggest that De Jong is continuing to refuse surgery, despite the recommendations of the Camp Nou medical team.
Add to this ongoing claims that the former Ajax man, owing to deferred payments stemming from the pandemic period, is owed somewhere in the region of €37 million for each of the next two seasons, and unrest has begun to mount across the Barcelona fanbase.
On Sunday, De Jong, in turn, was afforded the opportunity to provide his own take on the situation.
And the 27-year-old, as cited by Fabrizio Romano, made use of the opportunity to fight his corner, hitting back at those who continue to damage his reputation:
“They said a lot about me… they said that I don’t want to have surgery and that they pay me a lot of money. They said I get €37m salary and it’s fake! It’s very, very far from that. I’m not close to earning that, I’m very far away.”
Conor Laird – GSFN
