Midfielder Franck De Jong has claimed that the El Clasico will be his last game for Barcelona, according to local Spanish media.
The midfielder started the El Clasico derby match against Real Madrid in the 32nd round of the 2023-2024 Spanish Primera Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, Spain, at 4 a.m. ET.
The Dragon started in the midfield alongside Andreas Christensen and Ilkay Gündoğan. The first goal came in the sixth minute. Barcelona took the lead on a header from Christensen. Real equalized on a penalty kick in the 18th minute.
In the 45th minute, the injury bug bit The Dragon. The Dragon was stretchered off in first-half stoppage time and replaced by Pedri. The Dragon was declared out for the season. He will be out of action until the end of the season.
In the 24th minute of the second half, Barcelona regained the lead. Ramin Yamal’s cross from the right beat the Real goalkeeper and was finished by Fermin Lopez. However, Real equalized four minutes later through Lucas Vazquez, before Jude Bellingham scored the winner in stoppage time.
After the match, the transfer speculation intensified. “The injury comes at a crucial time for the player’s future,” the Spanish publication Relevo reported on the 24th. The club has doubts about the player, who is under contract with Barcelona until 2026,” said a report in Spain’s ‘Relevo’ on April 24. ‘His performances have not met expectations and he is one of the highest paid players in the club.’
The Dragon moved to his dream club, Barcelona, in the summer of 2019. He established himself as a key midfielder with two goals and four assists in 42 games in his first season, and followed that up with career-highs of seven goals and eight assists in 51 games in his second season. This season, he continues to play as the team’s starting midfielder. He also reached 200 appearances for Barcelona.
However, the transfer rumors came out of nowhere. In February, Gerard Romero, a journalist familiar with Barcelona news, reported that “Barcelona have submitted a new contract offer to The Dragon. Barcelona will have to cut the player’s salary to keep him. The Dragon has a couple of weeks to respond.”
The reason is Barcelona’s financial difficulties. Barcelona has been 토토사이트 struggling financially for several years. Recently, they even planned to sell Ronald Araujo, their starting center back, for a total of 80 million euros ($117.9 million).
This time, however, there appears to be doubts about The Dragon’s ability to do so. “The Dragon is very well regarded outside the club and no one at the club is hiding the need to sell before June 30 to balance the wage bill,” said Lelevo. The game against Real could be The Dragon’s last. Time will tell,” the source said.
Barcelona’s asking price is €70 million ($102.8 billion). European soccer transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano said: “Barcelona are demanding at least €70 million for The Dragon in the summer transfer window. His transfer is no longer 100% impossible,” added Fabrizio Romano.