De Jong talks Xavi, Pedri, Mazraoui, and Barcelona future ahead of Galatasaray clash

After seeing through back to back La Liga fixtures, Barcelona will return to their Europa League schedule, where they take on Galatasary at home in the Round of 16 first leg.

The Catalan giants were able to see off Napoli with ease, and will hope to bury this tie in the first leg itself, with the La Liga schedule looking increasingly tricky.

After their second leg, Barça will take on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, and then Sevilla at the Camp Nou in consecutive gameweeks.

Ahead of the Galatasary clash, Frenkie de Jong addressed the media as part of the pre-game presser.

On Galatasaray: “Galatasaray is a good team, but we play at home and we have to be the favourites.”

On himself, vis-a-vis the club: “I feel good at Barcelona, we are in good dynamics and what I want is to continue and improve here.”

On his form and criticism: “I don’t know if I have shown my best version, you can always improve. Criticism does not hurt me but sometimes people don’t watch the games and believe it when a journalist says I’m not good.”

On how Xavi helps him: “Xavi shows me videos of the matches, moments in which I can improve, how to position myself and receive the ball. They are videos about all aspects of my game.”

On Barcelona’s transfers: “It’s always a good time to come to Barcelona, it’s one of the best clubs in the world, you can really enjoy the way we play. If we strengthen ourselves well, next season we will be able to fight for everything.”

On the change of coaches: “It’s never a good sign that there are four coaches in three years but with all of them, I’ve felt good. When you don’t play well, it’s not because of the coaches or other players. It’s because of yourself.”

On Noussair Mazraoui: “Mazraoui is a very good player. I don’t know if he will come, but he is a very talented player.”

On Pedri: “He has enormous talent, when he plays he seems to do it very easily, he does everything perfectly. He can mark and era, for sure.”

On the competition in midfield: “We have many quality players in midfield. I’m not afraid of competition and it’s good for the team that there is so much quality and that we can all start.”

Source: BarçaTV+