They promised him the shirt without telling me - Carles Alena hit hard at Barcelona board for disrespecting him by handing his squad jersey number to De Jong without his knowledge

Barcelona's last season No. 21 shirted player Carles Alena has made has displeasure known to the Camp Nou outfit for deciding to hand his squad number to newly signed midfielder De Jong without even informing him.

"It didn't sit well with me that the board promised De Jong the No.21 without telling me," Alena said at Barcelona's training base in Kobe, Japan.

Although Alena has no issue with De Jong over the issue, it is clear that he is not happy with the way in which Barcelona handled things.
"The thing about giving De Jong the shirt was something between him and I," he added.
"I would have liked a message from the board. They promised him the shirt without telling me.
"I knew it was wrong, it didn't sit well with me. I've always been good to the club."
Ahead of next season, De Jong will wear the No.21 shirt and Alena will don the No.19.  Arkel, Netherlands
The Arkel (Netherlands) born diminutive midfielder
De Jong began his professional career at Willem II in 2015, but transferred to Ajax for a fee of €1 a year later. In the Dutch capital, starring as a defensive midfielder , he established himself as one of the best young players in Europe. He transferred to Spanish club Barcelona in July 2019, having agreed to sign for them in a deal worth an initial €75m fee.