Frenkie de Jong has officially etched his name into Barcelona’s history books, reaching a remarkable milestone during the club’s recent La Liga clash against Celta Vigo.
The Dutch midfielder made his 293rd competitive appearance for Barcelona, becoming the most-capped Dutch player in the club’s history.
This achievement sees De Jong surpass Phillip Cocu, who previously held the record with 292 appearances during his time at Barcelona between 1998 and 2004.
It marks yet another significant moment in what has been a consistently influential spell for the midfielder since his arrival from Ajax in 2019.
A Barcelona leader
Now serving as one of the team’s captains, De Jong has grown into a central figure both on and off the pitch, and this achievement was rightly appreciated by Pedri after the game.
“I’d like to offer Frenkie de Jong my congratulations for being the Dutchman with the most matches at Barcelona.
“I think it’s an accomplishment that doesn’t happen every day, and I’m very happy that he’s with us, and I hope he can continue to play many more matches.”
Across seven seasons, he has already collected seven trophies with the club and is now pushing to add another La Liga title to his honours list.
Meanwhile, the list of Dutch greats at Barcelona explains the significance of De Jong’s achievement.
Legendary names such as Ronald Koeman, Patrick Kluivert, Frank de Boer, Johan Neeskens and Johan Cruyff have all left lasting legacies at the club.
To now stand above them in terms of appearances shows both De Jong’s longevity and his consistent role in the team.
As such, Barcelona marked the occasion fittingly, as both Cocu and Koeman were invited to the presidential box at the Spotify Camp Nou during the match against Celta Vigo.
De Jong entered the pitch in the 73rd minute, replacing Dani Olmo, which is when he officially claimed the record.
What makes this milestone even more impressive is that it could have arrived sooner, but a calf injury sustained at the end of February sidelined him for around six weeks, forcing him to miss nine matches.
Despite that interruption, De Jong’s consistency and influence have never been in doubt and this milestone proves it.