After returning after a protracted injury-enforced hiatus, Frenkie de Jong made his first start of the season for FC Barcelona against Crvena Zvezda yesterday night.

Even if the Dutchman wasn’t playing at his best, manager Hansi Flick has complete faith in him and thinks the 27-year-old can play a significant role in his plans for the Catalan team.

De Jong is scheduled to start the last year of his contract in the summer, although there are concerns over his future with the team going into 2025.

As a result, journalist Laia Tudel claims that De Jong and Barcelona might clash in the summer of 2025, at which point the midfield player will be asked to either sign a new deal or depart the team.

The team has been offering De Jong a contract for months, but he hasn’t replied to the offer yet.

This has caused the team to worry that when the Netherlands international’s contract expires in 2026, he may consider departing as a free agent.

Deco, the sporting director of the Blaugrana, met with one of his representatives lately, but nothing came of it.

As a result, distrust at Barcelona is intensifying, and questions about his renewal persist.

Barça would probably give the midfield player a deadline to either sign a new deal, maybe at a lesser salary, or accept a summer departure if the matter is not settled by the end of the current campaign.

It seems sense that the Catalans would not want to risk losing their talent in 2026 for nothing by letting him enter the last year of his contract.

It is unclear how things will develop in the upcoming weeks, and De Jong’s silence over the suggested offer does not help the situation.