Louis van Gaal: 'Frenkie de Jong made mistake joining Barcelona'

Louis van Gaal has questioned Frenkie de Jong's decision to join Barcelona from Ajax, insisting that the young midfielder will find it "difficult" at Camp Nou.

The Netherlands international reportedly had a number of clubs to choose from earlier this year, but he opted for the Spanish champions in a £65m deal and will officially become a Barca player this summer.

Former Barcelona and Ajax boss Van Gaal is not sure whether the 22-year-old has made the best choice, though, as he will be asked to play in a different system with better players to compete against.

"I think it will be difficult for him there," he told Fox Sports. "Not only because he'll have a different role there, but because he'll be competing with others to make the starting eleven.

"He's lucky that Barcelona were knocked out in the semi-finals [of the Champions League] because the status of the club is different and there will be different players.

"In my opinion, he could have chosen better. De Jong is a very good player, but so is Ivan Rakitic, and five years ago when I was at Manchester United, I wanted to sign Arturo Vidal.

"As a player you always have to choose a club where you can play. The question is, does he have this assured at Barcelona? We'll have to wait and see. I hope so because at that age you have to play every game."

De Jong featured 46 times for Ajax in their double-winning campaign of 2018-19.