Barcelona Star Makes Shocking Admission Following Koeman's Criticism Of His Performance

Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has responded to coach Ronald Koeman’s criticism, admitting that he wasn’t at his best form during the club's recent matchup with Sevilla.

On Oct. 4, Barcelona dropped points at home for the first time this season in the 1-1 draw against Sevilla. After the match, Koeman criticized De Jong’s performance during a press conference, saying, “He lost too many balls and has not been fine like his other team-mates,” Goal reported.

Ahead of the Netherlands' match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday, De Jong said that he agrees with his Barca coach’s assessment and considers himself a fringe player in that match.

“I didn’t play at the top level against Sevilla,” De Jong told reporters. “I was only mediocre. How is my form? We’ll see, but I feel good.”

Despite his poor performance against Sevilla, De Jong has kept his head high and is now looking forward to bouncing back in the international stage. The Netherlands, De Jong’s home country, is set to face Italy on Wednesday in the UEFA Nations League.

During the press conference, the midfield sensation also had a message for his international teammates, reminding them to not be too confident.

“We have to be realistic and not expect the Netherlands to dominate and win every game,” the Dutchman warned. “We want to aspire to that. I think we have many players who are already world class and are already first rate. We have other talented young players who can grow with the squad.”

While he is eager to prove that the Netherlands team is still a sensational squad, De Jong is also aware that they have plenty of room for improvement.

"We are a very good team but when you see some details you realize that there are still aspects in which we have to grow,” he added. “We need to improve tactically and in our understanding. We want to show Bosnia that there is still magic with us.”

Koeman, meanwhile, has confirmed that Barca is focusing on developing its younger players such as Ansu Fati and Francisco Trincao as he addressed Luis Suarez’s departure.

“I'm good with Luis [Suarez], but the club felt that we had to rejuvenate,” Koeman recently told NOS. “You can see that now in the team. Ansu Fati plays, he is 17 years old. We have Pedri, 17 years old, who gets his chances. Ronald Araujo is there at the age of 21. Trincao falls in a lot and is 20 years old, and we have taken Sergino Dest, who is 19. Those are all players for the future.”