De Jong says he will leave Barca depending on circumstances – ‘If I felt that…’

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has left the door ajar to an exit from Barcelona under specific circumstances. The Dutch midfielder is out of contract in 2026, but there has been no shortage of talk about his future.

The Blaugrana will reportedly accept a sale for as little as €20m this summer unless de Jong signs a contract renewal with the club, although the quiet part is that he will have to accept a substantial wage cut. It has been a talking point for some time in the local press, but de Jong is ignoring it.

“My contract renewal is a topic for the newspapers here, but it is not for me. I want to play football and then I will see what the club wants to do with me and then I will decide what I want to do, together with my agent and my family,” he said to Voetbal International, as quoted by Sport.

Some at the club reportedly believe that de Jong intends to run down his contract and hit the free agent market in 18 months time. De Jong says he will leave if he does not feel that he is capable of doing his part.

“People think that I want to stay at Barcelona forever because life outside of football is very good here, and it is good, but it is still less important than what happens on the pitch. If I felt that I couldn’t contribute enough, or if the team cannot compete, I would leave.”

De Jong has struggled to eek out a place for himself in the starting line-up since Hansi Flick arrived and the Dutchman recovered from his chronic ankle problen. This season he has just eight appearances amounting to 362 minutes, but did not make it off the bench when Barcelona were searching for a winner against either Leganes or Atletico Madrid.