De Jong began his professional career atWillem II in 2015. He transferred toAjax for a symbolic fee of €1 a year later. The fee was symbolic and offset by a sell-on clause. At Ajax he established himself as one of the best young midfielders in Europe, after winning a domestic double and reaching the Champions Leaguesemi-finals. De Jong won theEredivisie andKNVB Cup, wasEredivisie player of the season, and was an instrumental part of Ajax's firstUEFA Champions League semi-final appearance in22 years, in a breakthrough2018–19 season.
During his breakthrough season, De Jong agreed to sign for Barcelona in January 2019, leading him to be signed for the club in July, for a fee worth €75 million. De Jong was selected to the2019 FIFA FIFPro World11 and was one of three Dutch players to feature in it for the first time in five years.
De Jong made his senior international debut for the Netherlands in September 2018. He became a starter in the inauguralUEFA Nations League, in which Netherlands finishedrunners-up. He also represented the side atUEFA Euro 2020 and the2022 FIFA World Cup.
Frenkie de Jong was born inGorinchem and grew up inArkel, a town in the province ofSouth Holland. His parents, Marjon Schuchhard-de Bruijn, who works inhome care, and John de Jong, acommunity service officer working withparking restrictions, named him after the British pop bandFrankie Goes to Hollywood.[4][5][6] He has a younger brother, Youri de Jong.[6] Frenkie de Jong started playing football at six years old when his father enrolled him at the local amateur club ASV Arkel.[7] At eight, De Jong was scouted by the professional clubWillem II, where he progressed through the shared youth academy of Willem II andRKC Waalwijk.[7]
De Jong signed his first professional contract with Willem II on 1 August 2013, aged sixteen.[7] On 10 May 2015, De Jong made hisEredivisie debut againstADO Den Haag, two days before his eighteenth birthday. He wassubstituted in the 68th minute forTerell Ondaan in a 1–0 home win overADO Den Haag.[8][9]
At the beginning of the season, on 22 August 2015, Ajax purchased De Jong. He signed a four-year contract, for a symbolic €1 fee which included a 10% sell-on bonus. On 23 August 2015, he was loaned back to Willem II until 31 December 2015. During this time he made one substitute appearance in an Eredivisie match againstPEC Zwolle.[10]
For the first two years at Ajax, De Jong was in and out of the first team squad. After returning to the club in January 2016, de Jong made 15 appearances in the2015—16 Eerste Divisie forAjax II. He primarily played in the centre of a three-man midfield and scored two goals. The following year, he was awarded the2016–17 Eerste Divisie's Talent of the season award for his performances with Ajax II for whom, he made 31 first team appearances and played as a central, and defensive, midfielder.[11][12][13]
He made his senior debut againstSparta Rotterdam coming on, in the 88th minute, forLasse Schöne. In total, he made four senior appearances for Ajax, and scored one goal againstGo Ahead Eagles, in the2016—17 season. He started one game, came off the bench thrice, and was an unused substitute in 13 games. He also made his European debut and made four substitute, and three bench, appearances, in the2016–17 Europa League. He came off the bench in the 82nd minute againstManchester United in thefinal. It was Ajax's first European final in 21 years.[14][15]
Aged 20, he made 26 appearances for the first team. Primarily he featured as a center-back, in a back four, alongside national teammateMatthijs de Ligt due to the departure ofDavinson Sanchez. He also played in a three-man center-midfield. He recorded eight assists in 22 league appearances and received two yellow cards. Towards the end of the season he was injured—tendonitis, syndesmotic ligament tear, hairline crack in calf bone—and missed three months. De Jong made two substitute appearances in the2017–18 Champions League qualification, as Ajax lost on away goals againstNice (3–3) in the third qualifyinground.[16]
In the2018–19 season, he primarily played in the middle of a three-man midfield. De Jong was the Eredivisie player of the month in December (2018) and February (2019)—in which he completed 354 of 390 passes and made 53 ball recoveries. Later that month he received praise fromRafael Van Der Vaart, who said De Jong was among the best players in Europe with the ball at his feet. It is unclear whether during or prior to the beginning of the campaign he rejected an offer from Tottenham Hotspur, saying the "moment wasn't right", and wanted to play a full season in his preferred position at Ajax.[17][18][19]
On 23 January 2019,La Liga clubBarcelona announced the signing of de Jong on a five-year contract, effective from 1 July 2019, for an initial fee worth €75 million. De Jong had transfer discussions withParis Saint-Germain,Manchester City andManchester United before ultimately opting for Barcelona.[22][23] He made his competitive debut on 16 August 2019, in a 0–1 opening day defeat toAthletic Bilbao.[24]
He played a crucial role in the2021 Copa del Rey final, a 4–0 win over Athletic Bilbao, scoring in the 63rd minute and assisting two further goals.[25]
Following the departure of club captainSergio Busquets, de Jong became the fourth captain of Barcelona on 21 July 2023.[26] On 25 November 2023, in a match againstRayo Vallecano, he debuted as captain for FC Barcelona due to absences ofSergi Roberto,ter Stegen andRonald Araujo. In January 2024, de Jong played his 200th game for FC Barcelona in a 3–1 victory againstUnionistas in the Copa del Rey round of 16.[27] On 24 February 2024, he scored the 11,000th goal in FC Barcelona's history in a 3–0 win againstGetafe CF.[28] On 21 April 2024, de Jong was injured in a match againstReal Madrid. He sprained his ankle and missed the rest of the 2023–2024 season.
In the 2024–25 season, de Jong was named third captain after the departure ofSergi Roberto. The ankle injury of last season kept him sidelined until the second Champions League fixture againstBSC Young Boys in October 2024. In the 75th minute, he made his first minutes underHansi Flick and for the season. He found his form in the latter half of the season. He made 44 appearances across all competitions, and his performances were marked by a high passing accuracy and tactical intelligence, solidifying his position as a key player in the squad. His resurgence in form led to discussions about contract renewal, with club officials expressing a desire to extend his stay at Barcelona.[29] On 15 October 2025, he extended his contract with the club until 2029.[30]
De Jong made eight appearances for theNetherlands under-19 team, with his debut coming against Russia on 7 July 2015.[31] He made six appearances and scored one goal for the Netherlands atunder-21 level.[32]
In June 2019, De Jong was included in the Netherlands' squad for2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, where he was named as Young Player of the Tournament as theOranje finished as runner-up to hostsPortugal.[35] The same year in September, De Jong scored his first senior international goal in the Netherlands' 4–2 victory againstGermany inUEFA Euro 2020 qualifying.[36]
In June 2021, De Jong was included in coachFrank de Boer's squad forUEFA Euro 2020. He played in all three group matches, as well as the Netherlands' 2–0 loss toCzechia in the round of 16.[37]
In November 2022, De Jong was included in the Dutch squad for the2022 FIFA World Cup. On 29 November, he scored his first World Cup goal in a 2–0 win over tournament hostQatar in the team's final group match.[38] On 9 December, he played the full 120 minutes as the Netherlands lost in apenalty shootout to eventual winnersArgentina at thequarter-final stage.[39]
In June 2023, De Jong was part of the Netherlands' squad for the2023 UEFA Nations League Finals, where he played the full match against bothCroatia in the semi-final andItaly in the third place play-off.[40][41] De Jong was named in the Netherlands' squad forUEFA Euro 2024,[42] but had to withdraw due to an ankle injury.[43]
—Former Netherlands international and Ajax sporting directorMarc Overmars on De Jong
Frenkie has described himself as a player "who likes to have the ball a lot, and play possession". A versatile player, De Jong can function as aregista,defensive-midfielder,central-midfielder,holding midfielder,box-to-box midfielder andcentre-back. He has been lauded for his combination of defensive stability andplaymaking ability. He often partneredMatthijs de Ligt at centre-back, at Ajax. As a centre-back, he abstained from committing fouls, showed great positional sense, and won possession frequently. In this more defensive role, his performances led to comparison with former German sweeperFranz Beckenbauer and likened his tendency to progress forward in possession, and ability to play-make, from defense to the German legend.[46][47][48][45][49][50][51]
"We saw the other day De Jong is a footballer who can mark an era in Barcelona. He is able to dominate the game, he sees it easily and doesn't lose the ball. He also makes sacrifices to work defensively. I think they are top-level players, very good for Barca."
De Jong's vision has been praised alongside his ability todribble in narrow spaces, control over possession, and decisive passing. A natural dribbler, De Jong has the highest dribbling success of all players to participate in all competitions, during his last season with Ajax.[53][54]
His other attributes include a penchant forlong cross-field passes, creating space, and absorbing attacking pressure. His close control, accuracy, work rate, and movement has drawn comparisons with Andrés Iniesta andJohan Cruyff. At Barcelona, he has primarily played on either side of a three-man central midfield. This has led experts and former players to regard him as a player with "Barca DNA" who was "born to play for Barcelona".[49]
Since he started playing professionally, De Jong has chosen 21 on his shirt as a tribute to his grandfather who was born on 21 April.[15][55][56]
De Jong met his wife Mikky Kiemeney in high school and they have been together since 2014. The couple became engaged in July 2022, and married in May 2024.[57][58] The couple has two sons, Miles de Jong, born on 21 November 2023, and Mason de Jong, born on 21 August 2025.[59][60]
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