The Saudi Jeddah Federation is planning to sign Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder, in the upcoming summer transfer market.
De Jong’s (27 years old) contract with Barcelona expires in June 2026, so the Catalan club will prefer to sell him if no agreement is reached to extend the contract.
The Spanish “Relivo” network reported that Jeddah Federation officials are seeking to exploit the current situation between De Jong and his club, and have already held talks with the Dutch player’s agent in order to reach an agreement with him.
Ramon Planes (Al Ittihad) contacted Frenkie De Jong’s agents to find out the player’s requirements @MigRico 🇸🇦🇳🇱🔎 pic.twitter.com/1FElMJPRtF
— FCB Paul (@FCBPaul_) January 11, 2025
For his part, the Spanish Ramon Blanes, sports director of the Jeddah Football Association, who previously worked in Barcelona between 2018 and 2021, confirmed that the Saudi club has its eyes on more than one player in the ranks of Barca, led by De Jong.
Barcelona recently withdrew the renewal offer it made to De Jong during the past months until further notice, according to the Spanish newspaper “Mundo Deportivo”, due to the player’s procrastination in responding.
The Spanish network said, “Barcelona’s main intention is to sell the player before he enters the final year of his contract and avoid his free departure without achieving any financial benefit.”
At the same time, Barcelona does not rule out the possibility of making a new offer for De Jong, but this step is conditional on the player performing at a high level during the remaining matches in the current season 2024-2025, and reducing his huge salary.

These developments come at a time when Barcelona’s management and players are in Saudi Arabia, where the Catalan team will play tonight (10 pm Mecca time) the final match of the Spanish Super Cup against its traditional rival Real Madrid, at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium (the Radiant Jewel) in Jeddah. .
De Jong joined Barcelona in the summer of 2019, coming from the Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, in a deal amounting to 75 million euros.
But the Dutch star did not meet the ambitions of the Catalan club. Since joining the team, he played 228 matches in all tournaments, during which he scored 18 goals and provided 22 assists, according to figures from the famous “Transfermarkt” website, which specializes in player data.
De Jong was absent from the team for long periods due to suffering from injuries.
He won only 3 titles with the team in 5 seasons: the Spanish League (1), the Spanish Super Cup (1), and the Spanish King’s Cup (1).
During the current season, De Jong failed to regain his place in the starting lineup with German coach Hansi Flick. Since last October, when he returned from the injury he suffered at the end of last season, the Dutchman has only appeared in 15 matches in all tournaments.
De Jong was not spared criticism from the Spanish press in general and the Catalan press in particular due to his poor performance with Barcelona.