Frenkie de Jong 'expected more trophies' at Barcelona, reveals special Busquets text message

Frenkie de Jong admits he had expected to win more trophies at Barcelona since his big-money move from Ajax three years ago.

The Netherlands international has just one Copa del Rey title to his name since linking up with the Barca squad in the summer of 2019, a turbulent period which has seen the club battle significant financial issues, sell a number of key players and change manager three times.

Despite that frustration, De Jong insists he is happy at Camp Nou and says a message from fellow midfielder Sergio Busquets helped him settle in at his new club.

De Jong joined Barca for an initial fee of €75 million (£65m/$85m) in January 2019, but only linked up with the squad that summer ahead of the 2019-20 season.

The Catalans went on to finish second in La Liga behind Real Madrid and failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2008.

They managed to lift the Copa de Rey the following campaign but could only finish third in La Liga, the first time Barca have finished outside the top two in 13 years.

Despite that frustration De Jong says he has no regrets about making the move to the Catalan giants.

"I’m very happy I’m at Barcelona: from a young age I’ve wanted to be here, so in that way it has been a dream come true," he told The Observer.

"But, of course, I would have liked to win more trophies than we did in my first two years. I expected more in that sense, let’s put it that way. But other than that, I’m very happy here and hopefully for many more years."

A graduate of the famed Ajax academy and part of the senior side that reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, there was much excitement surrounding De Jong’s arrival.

Once his move was confirmed the Spanish media quickly began speculating about his role in