The story of the night on Sunday in Barcelona was the return of Gavi after 11 months out with injury, he played the final 10 minutes of their clash against Sevilla. One of the subheadings was the absence of Frenkie de Jong though, who missed out entirely ahead of a crucial week.
De Jong has been passed fit for a month now, and appeared in both of their previous games against Young Boys and Alaves off the bench. Against Sevilla, Barcelona were more than comfortable, but de Jong spent most of the second half warming up, as he watched Pablo Torre, Fermin Lopez and Gavi all go on before him in midfield.
Pablo Gavi in the 'El Retorno' documentary: "I'm going to be the same, no matter what happens and whatever injury I have." @BarcaOneFCB
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) October 22, 2024
As per RAC1, it was no accident. Hansi Flick had explained that they preferred to give Gavi his big moment after the match, but they claim that it was a minor punishment for the Dutchman, who has not impressed Flick with his attitude of late. De Jong has plenty of competition for places, and his return to regular action is up in the air. The same thing happened with Jules Kounde, who was benched earlier in the season for Hector Fort after showing up late to a team meeting.
This comes amidst plenty of speculation over his future. As Barcelona try to extend contracts of several key players, talks over a new deal for de Jong remain ‘cold’. The 27-year-old is out of contract in 2026, meaning Barcelona will want to either extend his deal or sell de Jong within the next six to nine months.
