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Barcelona fans reacted on X after midfielder Frenkie de Jong had a day to forget during the 1-4 loss against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday (April 16).
The Dutchman got only 34 touches on the ball in 82 minutes on the field. Although he completed 20 of his 25 passes (80%), he barely made any creative contribution from midfield, winning just four out of his eight duels on the defensive side.
De Jong was outplayed by the PSG midfield, consisting of goalscorer Vitinha (54'), 18-year-old phenom Warren Zaire-Emery, and Spaniard Fabian Ruiz. Fans took to X to vent their frustrations after his subpar performance, with one fan saying:
"Perfect time to say goodbye."
Another one added:
"And Frenkie De Jong needs to be sold."
Here are some more fan reactions:
"De Jong is useless. Can't defend, can't create, can't make runs and score. Sell him, will get good money since 2 years are left in contract."
"Frenkie de jong is Odegaard pre 2022/23. Nothing player, fairy. Worst genre of footballer."
"Frenkie de Jong joined Barcelona 5 years ago and I’m still waiting for him to have a good game in the Champions League."
"Disappointing performance by Frenkie de Jong tonight, unfortunately."
"Its time to move on from Frenkie icl."
"If Frenkie de Jong is still in Barcelona next season I won't be."
De Jong has featured in 29 games for Barcelona this season, scoring two goals. He has missed 15 games for the Blaugrana through ankle injuries. With Barca looking to raise revenue in the summer, a potential move for de Jong away from the Camp Nou might be on the cards.
"We were convinced of going through" - Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong talks about game against PSG
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong spoke to the media right after his side lost 1-4 to PSG in the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Addressing reporters, he said he felt Barca could have easily won the game, only to receive a harsh reality check at full-time. Talking about the loss, de Jong said:
"It’s a strong blow. We were convinced of going through. There’s no other choice but to get up and try again. We tried, but we couldn’t do it at the end.”
When asked to assign a grade to Barcelona's 2023-24 Champions League run, De Jong replied:
"I don’t know, the grade doesn’t matter. We face challenges. Of course, it was sad. This is what you expect if you play with 10 men in the Champions League."
Speaking about Uruguayan centre-back and Blaugrana teammate Ronald Araujo's red card in the 29th minute, he said:
"I don’t know if Araujo’s red card was fair, I haven’t watched the video."
However, he criticized the excessive carding done by the referee, in a quote (via ManagingBarca on X) as seen below:
