Frenkie de Jong’s Barcelona future TWIST after serious knee ligament injury

Robin Bairner

17 Mar 2025 12:45 GMT
4 min read

Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona, 2024/25 — © IMAGO

Barcelona have been given new urgency to tie Frenkie de Jong down to a new contract by some disturbing injury news that has filtered out from the club.

Article continues under the video

De Jong is currently locked in contract talks with the Blaugrana, his future very much in the balance.

Current ETV

Frenkie de Jong

M, DM (C)

Barcelona

Frenkie de Jong

M, DM (C)

Barcelona

ETV Range

€34.8M - €42.6M

While the Barcelona board are willing to look for a successor in the middle of the park for the Dutchman, they have been given additional cause to reconsider their position on a sale that head coach Hansi Flick is against.

According to multiple reports in Spain, including from Sport’s Toni Juanmarti, Marc Casado has suffered a knee ligament tear that, in the best-case scenario, will simply end his season. The 21-year-old is set for scans to determine the severity of the problem, with the report indicating that Casado could be out for significantly longer.

This blow has a knock-on effect on De Jong and only increases the importance of the former Ajax man committing himself to the club on a long-term basis.

Flick will certainly appreciate the importance of having a reliable force in the centre of the field, with doubts now evident over the long-term stability of Casado’s knee and, therefore, his ability to play at the top level on a weekly basis.

De Jong vs Casado

Both De Jong and Casado play the role of deep-lying playmaker for Barcelona, yet it is the 27-year-old Dutchman who has been the greater creative force for Hansi Flick’s side.

In a season in which he has had his own impact limited by injury, De Jong has been in strong form lately, despite having to brush off criticism of his lack of goals and assists.

Speaking to Ziggo Sport last week, he said: “Football today focuses a lot on numbers and statistics, but that doesn’t always tell the full story of a player or a game.

“I don’t measure my performance levels by goals. If I break lines, create space, play forward passes, win duels and control the tempo, that’s how I know I have played well in a match.”

© SciSports - De Jong vs Casado, 2024/25

Casado interprets the role in a more defensive fashion and is stronger at breaking up counters from his opponents, with his level when standing in for De Jong this season confirming that he surely has a long-term future at the club.

But the injury the younger player has suffered surely only hastens the need for Barcelona to get De Jong’s new contract over the line, with the two parties reportedly coming close to an agreement over a thorny financial issue that has dogged their relationship for years.