De Jong signed Barca deal on a table with lots of history

Opened in 1994, the Amsterdam Arena lost its original name on the 27th October 2017 when it changed to the Johan Cruyff Arena. The former Ajax and Barcelona icon, who remains so important in the history of both clubs today, is a key reason why the two sides have a mutual admiration for the other.

The Johan Cruyff Arena was one of the first major stadiums in Europe which changed to the new standards. They wanted to make a new stadium but without losing its historic value and significance. They kept hold of certains parts of the previous stadium so they would maintain an important role in the new building. One of those is the table which Josep Maria Bartomeu, Oscar Grau and Pep Segura sat at as Frenkie De Jong signed his contract.

The midfielder is the first player in many, many years who signed his Barcelona contract outside of the Catalan city. It was protocol which suited a transfer of this nature. Barça's delegation were invited over to Amsterdam by Marc Overmas and Edwin Van der Sar.

According to Van der Sar, the table comes from the 1960s and it's where every Ajax player has signed their contracts with the club. That means Cruyff signed his first contracts on it, as well as other famous players to have played for both sides such as Kluivert, Van Gaal and now De Jong.