De Jong: 'I feel comfortable, but I still have room for improvement'

Frenkie de Jong is enjoying a positive season at FC Barcelona. Playing in a free role, he has scored 5 goals and provided 4 assists so far this term. 

The midfielder spoke to Catalan television channel TV3's programme 'Onze' on Tuesday, to talk about the current state of play at the club.

"I feel good and I'm comfortable with the team. The coach gives me a lot of confidence, but I know that I still have to show my quality more," he said, adding that "Even though it isn't such an important part of my game, I'm scoring more goals now. When you score, it seems like everything is going better. Now I have to keep this good run going. I hope to continue growing and improving."

The team

"The team are in good shape. We've improved a lot and we have grown over these last few months."

"Lately we've been playing with a 4-3-3 formation, but what they ask us to do here is play good football. I don't think formation matters as long as we win and play good football."

La Liga and the Champions League

"Since the start of the season we've been working very hard and very well in training. It's been at the start of 2021 that we've begun to win games and be consistent. We have to continue like this until the end of the season, and we will see how the league ends up. You never know what might happen."

"The game against PSG will be very tough, because they have a lot of quality. However, we do too. It will be an interesting match."

Playing at empty stadiums

"We miss our fans -especially at the Camp Nou. However, we are getting more and more used to it. We want the fans back at the grounds, like before."

Leo Messi

"I would like for Messi to continue with us next year. He was one of the factors that influenced my decision to come to Barça."

"He's been the best player in the world for 15 years. When I was 12, he was already the best in the world. Playing alongside him is fantastic."

Pedri

"Pedri has a lot of quality. He is humble and works hard. He's only 18. He has a great future ahead, and he's already a great player with enormous quality."

Adapting to Barcelona

"I enjoy my everyday life a lot, with my teammates in training."

"The weather here is really good, and the people and the city are nice. Things are a little tougher now with COVID-19, because my family and friends can't come to see us, but we are happy."

Signing for Barça

"I asked Koeman and he told me positive things about Barça, the city and the people here."

"I wanted to sign for Barça, but at first I got the feeling that, whilst the club wanted me, they didn't see me as a key player. That made me have doubts to start with, because I was playing for Ajax and we were in the Champions League. In the end, they convinced me -and it was the right choice."