Bournemouth forward Justin Kluivert has admitted Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong is the best player he’s ever played with, having worked alongside him at Ajax.
The Bournemouth man has been speaking to Viaplay in the Netherlands, relayed by Ajax Fanatics, about his ‘best teammate’ and what he misses most now he’s at Bournemouth.
He joined the Cherries in a €10.8m deal from Roma in the summer the latest in a series of moves around Europe for the 24-year-old.
Kluivert started his career at Ajax before joining Roma in 2018, before having loan spells at RB Leipzig, OGC Nice and Valencia before his permanent move to Bournemouth last year.
It means the Dutchman has played with numerous different players in his career to date, but the one that stands out above all is the current Barcelona star.
“Frenkie de Jong,” he answered, ‘without a doubt’ when asked to name his ‘best teammate’.
“His quality is incredible, with or without the ball. He has everything. At Ajax we sometimes played one against one in training. I can pass a man quite well, but he just reads you. Unbelievable.”
Kluivert’s move to England means he’s now played in all top five leagues in Europe and is only the second player in history to have scored in them all too.
It means the 24-year-old has had to do plenty of adapting in his relatively short career, having moved from the Netherlands to Italy, to Germany, France and Spain.
Those are all distinct cultures, to say the least, but it seems the big thing he really misses now he’s at Bournemouth is the food he enjoyed in the Netherlands.
“What I miss? The food. Not the Dutch dish, but we have Surinamese food,” he added.
“Although a frikandel sandwich is tastier than fish & chips, but I can only eat that during the summer holidays. Then I also like a cheese soufflé, it’s tasty.”
