The midfielder says he has never doubted whether he wants to play football under the current circumstances. There are a number of players from Major League Soccer (MLS) who do not want to play football because of the corona pandemic.
“I have thought about it, but I am a footballer who wants to play games. Before that I also went to the United States,” says De Jong, who turned his contract with Ajax in February for an adventure in Cincinnati, Ohio.
“If I had now refused to play, the question would have been whether I would have gotten into football then. Standing still for a year as a top athlete is not very good either.”
Duel met Colombus Crew
Cincinnati FC, where next to De Jong also Jürgen Locadia, Maikel van der Werff and trainer Jaap Stam are under contract, will start the tournament on Saturday, July 11 with a game against Columbus Crew.
The numbers one and two of the group phase and the four best numbers three qualify for the knockout phase. The final of the ‘MLS is Back’ tournament is scheduled for August 11. The winner qualifies for the Latin American version of the Champions League.
