Frenkie de Jong made his first start of the season for FC Barcelona last night against Crvena Zvezda after returning from a lengthy injury-enforced absence.
While the Dutchman was nowhere near his best, he enjoys the total trust and confidence of manager Hansi Flick, who believes that the 27-year-old can become a key cog in his plans at the Catalan outfit.
However, there are question marks over De Jong’s future at the club heading into 2025 as he is all set to enter the final year of his contract in the summer.
Renew or leave – A conflict on the horizon
As such, journalist Laia Tudel reports that there may be a conflict arising between Barcelona and De Jong come summer of 2025, where the midfielder will be asked to either sign a new contract or leave the club.
De Jong has had a contract proposal from the club on his table for months now but has not yet responded to the offer.
This has sparked concern within the club that the Netherlands international might be considering leaving as a free agent in 2026 when his deal runs out.
There was a meeting held between one of his agents and the Blaugrana’s sporting director, Deco, recently but it led to no progress.
As such, the suspicion at Barcelona is growing stronger and stronger and doubts linger over his renewal.
If the situation is not resolved before the end of the season, Barça would likely issue an ultimatum to the midfielder to either sign a new contract, possibly with a lower wage, or accept a summer exit.
It is understandable that the Catalans do not wish to see their player enter the final year of his deal, exposing them to the risk of losing him for nothing in 2026.
De Jong’s silence on the proposed offer does not help the matter and it remains to be seen how things evolve in the coming weeks.
