John de Jong: "Lionel Messi personally called Frenkie. It was difficult because Messi does not speak English."
Frenkie de Jong's father, Johan de Jong makes a shocking admission during an interview on a Dutch radio studio. He insists it was Lionel Messi who personally called the 21-year-old in order to persuade him to snub big-money PSG deal and join the Catalan giants instead.
De Jong Sr. says with a bit of laughter: "Lionel Messi personally called Frenkie. It was difficult because Messi does not speak English." He also reveals Thomas Tuchel and Josep Guardiola tried to reach his son, as quoted by ESPN FC reporter Fernando Palomo.
The source highlights Messi's importance in De Jong's transfer to Barcelona. The starlet was supposed to join Paris Saint-Germain as he feared he wouldn't have become a starter at the Camp Nou stadium. It was time for Messi to intervene and reassure De Jong that he would be an important cog in the Blaugrana machine.
Later, Barcelona chief Josep Maria Bartomeu travelled to Amsterdam to discuss the terms of the deal with De Jong twice a week but eventually succeeded. The midfielder's starlet was announced on Wednesday evening. The starlet's transfer fee is reported to be around 75 million euros while his release clause is estimated to be 400 million euros, same as Philippe Coutinho's.
Imagine, how touched De Jong was when his idol, Leo Messi reached out and personally ASKED to join him! The 21-year-old has repeatedly named Blaugrana greats, such as Andres Iniesta and Xavi as the examples to follow. Moreover, he always wanted to play alongside the Argentine: "Of course I would like to play with him [Messi]. He is already 31 years old, so I must hurry."