‘Barcelona asked me to knock out Real Madrid’: Frenkie de Jong reveals La Liga giants request after talented Ajax starlet agreed £65m switch to join them in the summer
- Barcelona asked Frenkie de Jong to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League
- The 21-year-old is in Madrid as Ajax prepare to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit
- In January, de Jong agreed a £65million switch to join Barcelona in the summer
After agreeing to a £65million move to Barcelona in January, Ajax midfielder Frenkie de Jong was set a task before he made the switch at the end of the season.
The 21-year-old has revealed how his soon-to-be employers asked him to do everything in his power to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League.
Ajax are in Madrid preparing for the second-leg on Tuesday night where they are looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit. De Jong and Co need two goals but should the Dutch side pull it off, he will arrive at the Catalan club a hero.
Ajax have lost the last three game – Real Madrid have won their last three – but Ajax’s talented squad will have no fears ahead of their match-up at the Bernabeu.
The midfielder was pushing for the move to Barcelona but many, until now, would not have been aware of a unique conversation amid the contract negotiations.
‘When I signed, Barcelona asked me to knock out Real Madrid,’ De Jong said in an interview with De Telegraaf. ‘That would be great for Barca, too.
Barcelona signed De Jong, who is one of Europe’s brightest young players, for £65m in January
‘If we knock out Real Madrid we will surprise everyone in the football world and we will put Ajax’s name on the map.
‘We have to play offensively, press and play good football. If everyone’s involved, we have enough quality to surprise people.
The watching world – and particularly those who forked out big money for him in Barcelona – will be looking for a stand-out performance from a player they consider to be one of Europe’s finest in his position.
His efforts in the first leg, in which goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio handed Real the advantage with two away goals, failed to impress and Catalan publication Sport felt he was ineffective against Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
Ajax go into Tuesday’s match as rank outsiders but can take heart from the 1995 side which produced a stunning 2-0 win against Los Blancos.
Madrid boasted a squad which included legendary striker Raul and they were left stunned by Ajax, who departed the Spanish capital as 2-0 winners.
Jari Litmanen and Patrick Kluivert got the goals on that occasion and despite having failed to find the net in their last three games, Ajax need to channel the spirit of the ’95 side to stun side who are on a run of three successive Champions League titles.
