Frenkie de Jong is not interested in easing himself back into Barcelona’s team. The Dutchman wants his starting spot back, and he has said so twice in 48 hours.
Hansi Flick sent him on in the 74th minute of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid at Spotify Camp Nou, replacing Fermín López with the score level at 1-1. Raphinha had equalised in the 61st minute after Kylian Mbappé’s opener. The Clasico slipped away in the 87th, when Mbappé beat Barcelona again on a counter-attack.
It had been 155 days since De Jong last played for the club, going back to the final matchday of 2025-26 against Valencia in May. He suffered knee ligament damage during the summer and spent months in rehabilitation before being passed fit for the Clasico bench.
Return to the eleven ‘as soon as possible’
Speaking to club media after the final whistle, De Jong framed his comeback as the start of a push for his old role, not the end of a long recovery.
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“We have many high-level players. There are very good players, especially in midfield. Competition is logical in a team like Barcelona; it is nothing new. I want to do my part and return to the starting eleven as soon as possible,” he said, according to Goal.
Earlier on matchday, the Netherlands international had already made his position clear in an interview with Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport. He said he did not want to get used to being a substitute and that his aim in the longer term was to play consistently.
“I think I belong in that team and I feel I can play there.”
A crowded Barcelona midfield
Pedri and Fermín López started in Sunday’s Clasico, with Dani Olmo missing the game after picking up an adductor injury in the midweek 4-2 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain. The Spain international is expected to be sidelined for around a month.
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De Jong told Ziggo Sport his preference was to play as a number 6 or an 8 rather than a number 10, where he feels he gets more contact with the ball. That lines him up directly against Pedri for the deeper midfield slots and makes Olmo’s layoff, more than Fermín López’s current form, the most obvious route back for him.
Barcelona lost the Clasico but kept their lead at the top of La Liga, with Real Madrid closing the gap. Olmo’s expected return falls after the international break next month, giving De Jong a run of fixtures to show Flick that his starting spot is still there to be taken.
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