Barcelona surprised by Koeman’s statements on De Jong’s injury management at club

Former Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman made the headlines this week for a targeted statement towards the club regarding their management of Frenkie de Jong.

Currently appointed the manager of the Dutch National Team, the tactician was understandably frustrated that the midfielder would be unable to recover in time for the Euros.

“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 manager said.

His decision to repeatedly reiterate that the Blaugranas were responsible, however, has not gone down well in Catalonia.

Barcelona point the finger back

De Jong initially suffered an injury in Barcelona’s clash against Athletic Club on March 3rd. Given that he was close to 100%, the manager risked him against PSG and Real Madrid and the midfielder eventually fell prey to a Federico Valverde tackle in El Clasico.

“I have always been able to estimate the risk factor fairly well,” Koeman said yesterday when asked if he would have risked De Jong vs PSG had he been in Xavi’s shoes.

Koeman criticised Barcelona over De Jong’s injury. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Now, AS brings to light that Barcelona are surprised by Koeman’s recent statements. After all, it was the Dutch coach who overly exploited Pedri and primed him to recurrent injuries during his time at the club.

In the 2020-21 campaign, Pedri played 52 games for Barcelona under Koeman’s watch and ultimately took his tally for the season to a staggering 4996 minutes. He is still bearing the brunt of that very accumulation and has struggled for fitness ever since.

Barcelona were cautious

The Spanish outlet further adds that Barcelona are firm that they managed De Jong’s situation in the best manner possible given the circumstances.

They did not risk him for a single minute after his injury in El Clasico and he was sidelined for close to 45 days with the Euros specifically in mind.

With his exclusion from the event now confirmed, he will look to gear up for the new season ahead and be fit and raring in time for pre-season.

The only question, however, is whether he will be a Barcelona player come August given the club’s financial situation and his market value.