"I don’t regret it" - Ronald Koeman doubles down on claims that Barcelona mismanaging Frenkie de Jong led to his injury
Former Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman has said that he doesn't regret criticising the club for his compatriot Frenkie de Jong's injury management. De Jong is out of Koeman's Netherlands squad for Euro 2024 due to injury.
The 27-year-old De Jong injured his ankle on March 3 in a La Liga clash with Athletic Bilbao. Since then, he played thrice, including both legs of Barca's 6-4 aggregate defeat to PSG in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
However, Koeman reckons De Jong was rushed by Barcelona for the two PSG games, which has seemingly exacerbated the latter's injury, eventually ruling him out of the upcoming European Championship in Germany.
Koeman said after De Jong made the announcement on Instagram (Mundo Deportivo via Barca Blaugranes):
“We came to a conclusion that even in the next three weeks, De Jong will not be fully ready. He has a history with this injury. His club took risks before and now we have to pay the price. I know that he played while he was not 100% ready."
The Netherlands boss reiterated his stance about Barca mismanaging De Jong's injury (Mundo Deportivo via Barca Blaugranes):
“My words about Barca mismanaging Frenkie? I don’t regret it. Absolutely not. But I’m done with it too. I’m not going into it any further, because I talked to Frenkie about it well. That’s between us.”
“I have always been able to estimate the risk factor fairly well. It is, and that’s all I want to say about it now, also to the player. I also talked to Frenkie about that. I think I have a little more inside information.”
Frenkie de Jong scored twice in 30 games across competitions last season for Barcelona. Meanwhile, the Oranje open their Euro 2024 campaign against Poland in Hamburg on Sunday (June 16).
How has Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong fared for the Netherlands?
Frenkie de Jong has been a key player for club and country. The 27-year-old has made 54 appearances for the Oranje - contributing two goals and six assists - since his debut in a 2-1 friendly win at home to Peru in September 2018.
De Jong played four times in the previous edition of the Euros - making no goal contribution - as the Oranje lost 2-0 to the Czech Republic in the Round of 16 - after winning all three group games.
He had a better campaign at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, contributing a goal and an assist in five games as the Netherlands lost on penalties to eventual champions Argentina in the quarterfinals.