Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has denied suggestions of a fall-out with the club and dismissed talk that he earns as much as 37m-a-year.
De Jong's time in Catalonia has proven rather turbulent over the last couple of years. He has spent the last five months on the sidelines with a complex ankle injury and reports have claimed he refused the club's wishes to undergo surgery on the problem.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands international constantly finds himself in transfer gossip, with Barcelona often said to be open to a sale in order to get his hefty salary off their wage bill. He was the subject of intense interest from Manchester United in 2022 when his former Ajax boss Erik ten Hag was appointed their new manager, though a move never materialised.
In an interview with Barcelona One, De Jong hit back at the untruths about his professional life and sought to tell his side of the story.
"I understand the frustrations because throughout my recovery I have chosen to stay silent," De Jong added.
"But then things come out that are not true, like I don't want surgery, that I earn loads of money, as much as 37m. That's a very big figure and is a long way off what I really earn.
"And then people are talking a lot about whether I have to have surgery. It is not true that the club told me I had to have an operation and I didn't want one.
"Everyone at the club, the doctors and myself all agreed that surgery was not the best option. It has been very frustrating for a player who lives and breathes football to be out of action for a lengthy period."
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