Barcelona Star Sums Up Sad State Of The Club

Barcelona's recent defeat to Real Madrid in the Supercopa drew lots of complaints by fans, due to the club's reaction, and now one player has joined in the criticism.

Things have not been good at Barca on or off the pitch for a couple of years now and the team are really struggling in the race to finish in the top four this season.

It's a sad indictment that they're even in a battle just to get into next season's Champions League, having also been knocked out of the group stages of the competition in this campaign.

Another low point came 12 days ago, when Xavi's team lost in the Supercopa semi final to rivals Real and the club posted the highlights with the caption 'Pride in defeat,' which unsurprisingly didn't go down well with their fans.

Frenkie de Jong has piled on with the criticism, with the midfielder saying that the reaction has made him sad.

"It makes me sad that we say we are proud when we lost against Real Madrid," the Dutchman told Movistar on Sunday night.

"We are Barca, when you lose you always have to be disappointed."

De Jong was speaking after his late goal had given Barca a much needed win over Alaves, after they looked certain to drop more points in the race for top four.

Atletico Madrid's 3-2 comeback win over Valencia the previous night had put Xavi's team in serious danger of slipping further behind.

And, despite having most of the ball, the visitors struggled to create much against a team struggling in the relegation places, until De Jong's late intervention.

The former Ajax player had a pretty easy finish to make, after Ferran Torres squared the ball into his path in the box.

Despite his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world, De Jong hasn't quite lived up to the expectations at the Nou Camp and has recently been linked with a move away from the club.

With the Catalan giants struggling with financial issues and also having some very good youngsters in midfield, it's thought the 24-year-old is one of the more dispensable players, who could also make them money.