Background and career
Frenkie de Jong (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈfrɛŋki də ˈjɔŋ]; born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team.
De Jong began his professional career at Willem II in 2015. He transferred to Ajax for a symbolic fee of €1 a year later, offset by a sell-on clause. At Ajax, he established himself as one of the best young midfielders in Europe, after winning a domestic double and reaching the Champions League semi-finals. De Jong won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup, was Eredivisie player of the season, and was an instrumental part of Ajax's first UEFA Champions League semi-final appearance in 22 years, in a breakthrough 2018–19 season.
During his breakthrough season, De Jong agreed to sign for Barcelona in January 2019, leading him to be signed for the club in July, for a fee worth €75 million. De Jong was selected to the 2019 FIFA FIFPRO World 11 and was one of three Dutch players to feature in it for the first time in five years.
De Jong made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in September 2018. He became a starter in the inaugural UEFA Nations League, in which Netherlands finished runners-up. He also represented the side at UEFA Euro 2020, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2026 World Cup.
Frenkie de Jong was born in Gorinchem and grew up in Arkel, a town in the province of South Holland. His parents, Marjon Schuchhard-de Bruijn, who works in home care, and John de Jong, a parking enforcement officer, named him after the British pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood. He has a younger brother, Youri de Jong. Frenkie de Jong started playing football at six years old when his father enrolled him at the local amateur club ASV Arkel. At eight, De Jong was scouted by the professional club Willem II, where he progressed through the shared youth academy of Willem II and RKC Waalwijk.
How Frenkie de Jong makes money
Barcelona On 23 January 2019, La Liga club Barcelona announced the signing of de Jong on a five-year contract, effective from 1 July 2019, for an initial fee worth €75 million.
