De Jong excited to play with 'greatest ever' Messi
Frenkie de Jong is relishing the opportunity to play with "the greatest player ever" Lionel Messi after sealing his dream move to Barcelona.
Barca secured the Ajax star in a €86million deal in January, with De Jong set to join his new team-mates at Camp Nou at the end of this season.
And the midfielder is especially looking forward to lining up alongside Messi, who he considers to be the best player in the history of the sport.
"I am excited [to play with Messi], I'm looking forward to it," the 21-year-old told Barcelona's official website. "In my opinion, he is the greatest player ever.
"It's difficult to define him. I think he is the most complete player. He can do everything with the ball and without, he creates a lot of chances, his left foot is amazing and he's so smart, just from another level."
De Jong was linked with several clubs and revealed he spoke to both Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City before the switch, but says Barcelona was his ideal destination.
"I always dreamed of Barca as a kid. I just wanted to play for Barca," he said. "I liked the players, I liked the style. I think Barca is a bit of my dream club.
"My dream is to become an important player for Barcelona, I hope I can become a starter, and to win a lot of trophies with Barcelona. Those are my goals at the moment."
And De Jong believes he has joined the strongest league in world football as he prepares for life in LaLiga.
"I think the level of the competition is really, really high," he said. "Most people say the Premier League is the strongest league, but I'm doubting it.
"I think the level of the technique of the players in LaLiga is a bit higher. The Premier League is more intense, of course, but LaLiga is a really strong league. When I have time, I watch almost all of the games."
