Barcelona star Frenkie de Jong has recalled his side’s humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich as he names his best and worst days in Blaugrana colours.
De Jong is coming up to five years with the Catalan giants. The Dutch midfielder arrived at Camp Nou from Ajax in July 2019 for €86 million.
The 26-year-old has flourished at Barcelona with 16 goals and 21 assists in 200 games in various competitions. But it has been a difficult period in the history of the La Liga giants, which may have reached its lowest point in 2020.
The Blaugrana suffered an embarrassing 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. It was the first time they had lost by six goals since a 6-0 defeat by Espanyol in 1951.
De Jong recalled that heartbreaking loss when discussing reaching 200 appearances for Barca. He said (via BarcaUniversal):
“The worst was the day with Bayern in the Champions League and the best was winning La Liga last year.”
Barcelona ended a four-year wait for the La Liga title last season. They did so with 28 wins in 38 league games and De Jong played a key role at the heart of Xavi’s midfield.
De Jong made 33 league appearances, scoring two goals and providing four assists. His consistent performances came after a summer dominated by speculation that he could be heading to Manchester United.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has been accused of “quitting” during the heavy defeat by Bayern Munich.
![Lionel Messi captained the Blaugrana during their disastrous defeat.](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/01/86c77-17057620602046-1920.jpg)
Lionel Messi played the full 90 minutes of Barcelona’s 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich in 2019-20. The Argentina icon wore a face of doom as the Bundesliga giants dismantled his beloved Blaugrana.
It was Barca’s heaviest defeat since 1943 and Messi bore much of the blame for the humiliation of his former club. Steve McManaman was one of those who criticized the former Catalan giants captain on the night.
The former Real Madrid star felt the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner “gave up” during the defeat (via Metro):
“He has to work harder, especially on nights like this when he gets hit hard. He just gave in before, Alaba ran him that he never wanted, he only had to run five yards and he never wanted to run. not at all.”
The Inter Miami superstar spent one more year at Camp Nou before leaving. The La Liga giants have been unable to afford a new contract for their legendary striker. He joined Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain but insisted he never wanted to leave Barcelona.
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