Jordi Cruyff: The time to sell Frenkie de Jong has passed
The sporting director spoke about his Dutch compatriot at Barca
Jordi Cruyff, Barcelona’s sporting director, spoke to SPORT at the Barça offices at the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana executive, among many other topics, shut the door to the departure of Frenkie de Jong during the next few transfer windows. In fact, he says that the club considered it last summer, but that it was conditioned by economic reasons, never for sporting reasons. Cruyff thinks that today it is no longer a necessary move and, furthermore, he is delighted with the performance of the Dutchman during the last weeks before the World Cup started, in the Barça shirt.
Is De Jong still for sale?
Today this is not being talked about. In football there are moments and sometimes they are not defined solely by football issues... The fair play situation... Not everyone understands what it is, there are changes every week, but there are situations and decisions that are not just football things. But time has passed and he has an important role.
Did the economic situation force it?
There was the possibility because good players are always wanted by good teams, it works like that. The reality is that he is here and he is playing an important role.
Did you feel alluded to when they complained about the pressure from the club?
It is not a matter of alluded to or not, the players have their feelings, the clubs have theirs and some talk and you come to a common topic. The reality is that Frenkie has stayed, he is a loved player, people expect a lot from him because he is very talented and a slightly different player. These are market moments and it’s no longer with Frenkie, but with everyone, there is a fair play rule and the consequences of not complying with it are enormous and there are calculations that have nothing to do with what happens on the pitch. It is an accumulation of things and you do some calculations. There is no other way. Fair play forces you to make decisions.
