Frenkie de Jong: How to stop Lionel Messi

Stuart Telford

• Updated: 10 Jan 2023 17:53 GMT
• 3 min read

Frenkie de Jong and Lionel Messi were Barcelona teammates for two seasons and will be reunited on Friday when the Netherlands take on Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Both players have been key to their nations' progress to this stage of the competition in Qatar, De Jong anchoring the Dutch midfield while Messi has top-scored for Argentina with three goals and an assist.

Messi has said that this will be his last World Cup, and the 35-year-old is in the kind of form that could well see him bow out on a high. De Jong, having played alongside Messi for two years, thinks there is only one way to stop him.

READ: Barcelona dealt TWO major Messi blows in 24 hours

"I think we have to be better as a team, but Messi is of course the most dangerous man," he said. "He's been making a difference for 15 years, so there's not one way to stop him, otherwise everyone would have done it.

De Jong: 'stop Messi as a team'

"I think we have to stop him as a team and that's not one person's job."

Who prevails at the Lusail Iconic Stadium remains to be seen, while the club futures of both players remains somewhat uncertain.

READ: Barcelona hit back in De Jong to Man Utd controversy

Barca tried to sell De Jong to Manchester United last summer, but he dug his heels in to stay at Camp Nou. The Red Devils remain interested while Manchester City and Chelsea are also now keeping tabs on his situation.

Messi's contract with PSG is up in the summer, meanwhile, and he refused to extend in the French capital before the World Cup kicked off. A move to David Beckham's Inter Miami has been mooted - as has a return to Barca - but De Jong is none the wiser.

"I've occasionally kept in touch with him," he added. "But it's not the case that I text or call him every month or week."