Busquets’ thoughtful gesture when De Jong signed for Barcelona
When Frenkie de Jong agreed to move to Barcelona in early 2019, many viewed him as the eventual successor to Sergio Busquets in the centre of the Blaugrana’s midfield. Despite the threat to his playing time, though, Busquets was one of the first to welcome the Dutchman to the Camp Nou and even organised a friendly welcome gift for the youngster.
Busquets sent De Jong a message when the transfer was announced, urging the Dutch midfielder to get in touch with any doubts of queries about life at the Camp Nou.
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It wasn’t just words from the Catalan midfielder, as Busi also organised a welcome dinner for De Jong and his partner Mikky Kiemeney. In an interview with The Guardian, De Jong recalled: “He was like: ‘Great you’re coming and if you need something I’m always there to help’. And when I arrived in Barcelona, he recommended a restaurant and made a reservation for me and my girlfriend, Mikky. He had also informed the owner that we were coming so that everything was well arranged for us.”
De Jong believes that there is a unique atmosphere at Barcelona that minimises the chances of teammate rivalries over playing time. He continued: “Everyone really wants to help you. It’s like the best are playing and you can only influence that yourself. It’s not like someone else is to blame if you’re not playing. And I get the sense everyone feels that way.”
Frenkie de Jong: “I’m super happy to play for Barcelona. It was my dream and I love playing here. I want to stay year for many years”, he told @guardian today. 🇳🇱 #FCB
No proposal from Chelsea or Man Utd in January despite rumours - and Barça wanted to keep him. pic.twitter.com/3FXlizNJX7— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 19, 2022
De Jong’s partnership with Busquets
In his two and a half years at Barcelona, De Jong has struck up a strong partnership with Busquets. Rather than take the Catalan’s spot, De Jong has slotted in alongside the veteran and they have already played 103 times together. That makes Busquets the player who De Jong has played with the most since joining, along with Marc-André ter Stegen, who has also shared the pitch with the Dutchman on 103 occasions.
When playing alongside Busquets, De Jong and his partner have won 59 times, drawn 21 and lost 23. Now working with Xavi, who knows exactly what it takes to play next to Busquets, De Jong hopes to keep learning and to lead Barcelona back to the top.
