Frenkie de Jong: Barcelona to sign £65m Ajax and Netherlands midfielder

Last updated on 23 January 2019.From the section European Football92

Barcelona have confirmed the £65m signing of Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong, with the deal to go through in the summer.

The 21-year-old, who will cost the La Liga leaders an initial 75m euros plus another 11m euros (£9.5m) in variables, has agreed a five-year deal.

Netherlands international De Jong can also play in defence.

He was linked to many of Europe's top clubs including Manchester City, Juventus and Paris St-Germain.

De Jong joined Ajax from Willem II in 2015 and has played 65 times for the Amsterdam club, as well as winning five caps for his country.

He will see out the season with Ajax, who are two points below PSV Eindhoven at the top of the Dutch Eredivisie.

His new club's website calls him a "polyvalent player with an excellent reading of the game and ability to provide the killer pass".

De Jong will become the 20th Dutchman to play for Barcelona.

Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.

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92 comments

Comment posted by Vox Populi, at 18:55 23 Jan 2019
I notice people here showing their complete ignorance regarding FFP.

It’s not “you can’t buy players for big money.” It’s about balancing the books and where your transfer money comes from. Barcelona have a 100,000 capacity stadium, a worldwide commercial operation and they sold Neymar to PSG for 222 million euros. Where the money come from? Not a big mystery. Not some Arab or Russian oil goon.
Comment posted by MrJamie, at 18:03 23 Jan 2019
20m For Digne, 30m for Mina, 25m for Gomes (eventually). Everton has paid for this transfer alone.
Comment posted by navyblue, at 19:20 23 Jan 2019
@26

You are a deluded fool. You spent £75 million on 1 player. I support a League 1 club so no premier league bias but people like you are the reason 99% of the country cannot stand Liverpool.
Comment posted by sensiblefootball, at 18:30 23 Jan 2019
At 12. EdwardCrowley

Overrated league???

The last 5 Champions league winners from Spain, 4 of the last 5 Europa league winners from Spain

How on earth is it overrated, they are dominating European football
Comment posted by Glofy, at 17:57 23 Jan 2019
Glad he chose Barca over PSG. Just goes to show the pull of playing with Messi in contrast to playing with the overrated Neymar. From the shadow of Messi to the shadow of Mbappe. Good luck winning that Ballon D'or, better make a move to China for £2 million a week
Comment posted by The Reds, at 19:53 23 Jan 2019
50.JohnDoe

Making jokes about the new Cardiff player who tragically died is disgusting.
Comment posted by Terry, at 18:00 23 Jan 2019
Top players will always chois barca and madrid. Just how the food chain works
Comment posted by User0638418214, at 19:31 23 Jan 2019
@45. Posted by Espresso on
3 minutes ago
@31.

Oh yeah 200 million pounds... that they spent plus more besides on the petulant Dembele and the overrated Coutinho, the latter of whom they already want to move on. Don't pretend you know what you're talking about, Prem fanboys make me laugh. Look forward to seeing 0 English teams in the final as per usual!
--

What like Liverpool last season?
Comment posted by Digger, at 18:10 23 Jan 2019
How have they got him so cheap? Ajax really need a better negotiator as he should have been more in the 80m+ range considering his potential and age. They're like Bayern in the fact they always seem to get discounted rates (until they sold Neymar and got fleeced for Dembele and Coutinho anyway)
65m Euros for one of the most desirable kids in Europe. Chelsea paid that for Pulisic, who's trash.
Comment posted by AFCWdon, at 23:08 23 Jan 2019
Good player but crazy fee for emerging player but the good news here is that small Eredivisie clubs RKC & Willem II will benefit €4m & €6m respectively. It is a pity that smaller clubs are beings robbed off their talent but at least the money is trickling down to smaller players to an extent. Wouldn't it have been great if Ajax could have kept all of their talent in the last few decades though?
Comment posted by An Arsenal fan, at 18:53 23 Jan 2019
Even though I can understand the pull for young talented players of the likes of Barca and Madrid, you always wonder what teams like Ajax could achieve if all their young players decided to commit to the club. But I suppose in an era of short-term success being the only goal, players want to be guaranteed trophies quickly.
Comment posted by Wooster, at 20:08 23 Jan 2019
Some people are very gullible. I'm not a Liverpool fan but do you really think #26 is actually a fan? I think it's much more likely that he's a troll pretending to be one. His name is LFCLOVER for goodness' sake.

As a football fan, don't paint all fans of a club with the same brush.
Comment posted by D1679223888070, at 17:55 23 Jan 2019
At least it is some competition for maestro Boateng!
Comment posted by DulwichGooner, at 20:04 23 Jan 2019
Not massively relevant to topic but utterly horrified at the Emiliano Sala news. Hoping for a miracle
Comment posted by fatboyslim, at 18:19 23 Jan 2019
Massive fee, massive club! If he's as good as some of Dutch players that have graced the game in the past I'm sure he'll be a delight to watch!
Comment posted by User0599199439, at 19:08 23 Jan 2019
Polyvalent. Nice word
Comment posted by Kingy90, at 18:57 23 Jan 2019
Glad he signed for a proper team not City
Comment posted by Milz, at 18:31 23 Jan 2019
@12 We gotta stop telling ourselves premier league is the best because it isn’t. You criticise La Liga but you look at last 10 years both champions league and Europa League, can’t be just Real and Barcelona then can it. Spain are ahead in terms of quality just accept it, if you can’t look at English clubs vs Spanish clubs in both competitions
Comment posted by The Reds, at 20:24 23 Jan 2019
60. JohnDoe If a football/soccer fan made a similar awful post on a NFL thread they would also have their comments removed so your argument falls apart. Admit it you wanted to say something controversial and disgusting to gain attention.
Comment posted by User0638418214, at 19:34 23 Jan 2019
City fans understand perfectly well what FFP and Net Spend is all about but if it doesn't suit their agenda they pretend not to.

Can't fill a stadium with a dream team and top top manager, says it all really.

#Fairplayingfield