“Barcelona signed En-Nesyri’s substitute at Sevilla”

Gică Craioveanu has given his opinion around the signing of Luuk de Jong, and it’s not positive. The Romanian was a forward for La Liga clubs in the 90s and 00s, namely Real Sociedad, Villarreal, and Getafe.

He made his name first at Universitatea Craiova in Romania, a club he now works for after his retirement as a player.

“Barça signed a player who, with all due respect to him as he is a Dutch international, but was a substitute for Youssef En-Nesyri at Sevilla. And he was signed as if he was a top player, to be a starter. It doesn’t seem right to me,” Craioveanu said.

“He wouldn’t play at Craiova, either. He wouldn’t play with me,” he joked.

“FC Barcelona is not what it used to be, I believe that it will take five or six years to become the team they used to be.”

De Jong has scored one goal for Barcelona since signing on loan from Sevilla, but he has faced criticism from pundits and former players.

Another Romanian international who played in La Liga, Ilie Dumitrescu, gave his opinion as well.

“Pantelis Kapetanos looked better than Luuk de Jong,” he was quoted as saying, in regards to the striker he coached in the Greek league.

Luis Suárez Miramontes, who won the Ballon d’Or and played for Barcelona in the 50s and 60s, put it simpler: “Who the hell recommended Luuk de Jong to Barcelona?”