Frenkie de Jong  Frenkie de Jong (born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Spanish club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. A versatile playmaker, he is known for his strong defensive abilities. De Jong began his professional career at Willem II in 2015. He transferred to AFC Ajax for a fee worth €1 a year later. The fee was symbolic and 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 European Cup 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 World11 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. A product of Willem II, de Jong played through the entire youth system at the club. On 10 May 2015, De Jong made his Eredivisie debut against ADO Den Haag, two days before his eighteenth birthday. He was substituted in the 68th minute for Terell Ondaan in a (1–0) home win. At the beginning of the season, on 22 August 2015, Ajax purchased De Jong. He signed a four-year contract, for a symbolic €1 fee which included a 10% sell-on bonus. On 23 August 2015, he was loaned back to Willem II until 31 December 2015. During this time he made one substitute appearance in an Eredivisie match against PEC Zwolle. For the first two years at Ajax, De Jong was in and out of the first team squad. After returning to the club in January, 2016, de Jong made 15 appearances in the 2015—16 Eerste Divisie for Jong Ajax. He primarily played in the centre of a three-man midfield and scored two goals. The following year, he was awarded the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie's Talent of the season award for his performances with Jong Ajax for whom, he made 31 first team appearances and played as a central, and defensive, midfielder.