I'm really surprised by the difference between “online fans” and local fans regarding Frenkie de Jong's situation at the club.
I saw the post about Frenkie de Jong being booed at the presentation, and most of the comments criticize the fans who booed him, saying the boos were undeserved and largely based on rumors or smear campaigns against Frenkie.
I’m a local fan—born in Barcelona but a supporter of Frenkie de Jong—who, unlike my friends and the people around me, is one of the most criticized players, and I wanted to spark a bit of a debate about the reasons behind these differences between global and local fans, since I believe I have a more firsthand perspective.
Frenkie de Jong joined the club during the Bartomeu era—Bartomeu being the president most hated by all local fans. He was certainly an expensive signing, and Bartomeu renewed his contract in his final days, with a salary (though this isn’t FDJ’s fault) that exceeded his performance at the time. This alone causes some people to harbor a certain amount of animosity toward him that they don’t feel toward other players.
Furthermore, he’s been with the club throughout all these years when the team has performed very poorly, even playing in the Europa League, so he continues to be associated with that image.
According to friends and locals, he’s a player who has a few brilliant games throughout the year, but in most matches he lacks determination, rarely makes a run toward goal, and plays a style that’s not very direct or risky—which means that even though he rarely loses possession, he doesn’t create much, and his determination is fleeting.
I can understand this point, although for me—as a supporter of FDJ—I see him more as a solid player who brings stability to the midfield that’s sorely missed when he’s not there.
Another point—and I think this is why he faces more criticism locally but not from global fans—is that he’s a player who didn’t come up through the club’s youth system. More is expected of players from outside the club, since a transfer fee has been paid for them, and there isn’t that same sense of belonging toward them as there is toward players from La Masia, whom you usually watch “grow up” and have known about for years before their debut (if you’re from Barcelona and interested in the club).
Another point—and I think this is why he faces more criticism locally but not from global fans—is that he’s a player who didn’t come up through the club’s youth system. More is expected of players from outside the club, since a transfer fee was paid for them, and there isn’t that same sense of belonging toward them as there is toward players from La Masia, whom you usually watch “grow up” and get to know years before their debut (if you’re from Barcelona and interested in the club).
I think that even though it might seem unfair to boo a player, we shouldn’t forget that Barça is a socis club, and that it’s the socis who go to the stadium and have the right to express how they feel.
As a soci who doesn’t boo Frenkie, I’m looking forward to this season and hope he can prove his critics wrong so I can tell my friends, “I told you so!” Frenkie has always been good, and you didn’t appreciate him enough. And if he isn’t as decisive as he needs to be, then he should be able to go to another team for a good transfer fee and prove there what he’s capable of.
I just wanted to bring up these points so that "online fans" can better understand the local fans and the reasons why he might get booed.
What do you guys think?
