Ronald Koeman has laid the blame for Frenkie de Jong’s injury firmly at Barcelona’s door.
The Netherlands head coach was forced to remove his star midfielder from his Euro 2024 squad just days before the tournament begins.
De Jong hasn’t played since April with an ankle injury, and according to Koeman, Barca triggered the ailment by rushing him back.
“We have to examine the health of the player,” he said in an interview with the Dutch site NOS on Monday evening.
“The player has an injury history and his club took risks with him. This leaves us in a bad situation with Frenkie.”
Explaining why De Jong won’t even be kept around for later stages of the tournament, Koeman added: “He didn’t play a game and we didn’t see him in the most positive way possible.
“The tests have shown that he is not yet fit. You realize that he is not one hundred per cent and he is not in condition to play at the highest level for the next three weeks.
“We could keep him here but it doesn’t make much sense.”
The comments have a particularly awkward history behind them given that Koeman coached Barca between 2020 and 2021.
A club legend as a player, Koeman left the Netherlands to join the Spanish giants, only to leave unceremoniously and head back to the national team ahead of the Euros.
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