‘It wasn’t like that’ – Frenkie de Jong distance himself from fake stories ahead of injury return.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has denied a lot of cooked up stories about him in a recent interview as he continues to recover from an ankle injury which has kept him out since April.
The Dutchman has endured a terrible injury record in recent years, and has suffered three injuries to the same ankle, further upsetting his recovery time and the frequency at which he suffers setbacks.
During his absence from the pitch, a lot has been said and heard of the former Ajax man, which include topics relating to his salaries and refusal to undergo surgery. He has now dismissed all the speculations as fake.
‘It wasn’t like that’ – Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong;
“Throughout my recovery I have chosen to stay silent. It is not true that the club told me I had to have an operation, and I didn’t want one. Because everyone at the club, the doctors and myself all agreed that surgery was not the best option.”
“It is not true that I earn 37 million, that’s a very big figure and is a long way off what I really earn.”
“Having three injuries to the same ankle caused me a bit of mental trauma. I am gradually regaining my confidence to kick the ball hard and go strong into tackles … From the outside, the team looks full of energy and quality. I am really keen to be part of that and offer my very best.”
Contrary to what is made public, Frenkie de Jong is neither the highest earner at Barcelona nor earn €37 million. The player currently earns €19M fixed + €4.2M gross, which amounts to €23.2M annually. Robert Lewandowski is currently the highest earner with €32M gross salary annually.
Although Barcelona continues to insist they are not ready to part with the 27-year-old, speculations of a move away from the club is never going away.