Frenkie de Jong receives huge compliment from former Ajax team-mate

Rasmus Kristensen learned the most from Frenkie de Jong during his time at Ajax. The FC Midtjylland right-back said so ahead of Thursday's Conference League group-stage match.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Kristensen praised several former Ajax team-mates. "As a person, I learned a lot from Lasse Schöne. He's Danish, knows the club inside out and taught me a lot," he is quoted as saying by ESPN.

The FC Barcelona midfielder stood out for Kristensen: "I mean, there are just so many players. But I mean, I simply enjoyed watching Frenkie de Jong."

Of his other former team-mates, Kristensen said: "Of course, I also played with Matthijs de Ligt. But there are so many to mention. Hakim Ziyech, Dusan Tadic, David Neres. There were so many players back then; it was just incredible."

Ajax's squad has since changed: "Well, Daley Blind is the only one I played with who is still at Ajax now. And I'm still very good friends with Kasper Dolberg."

In 2019, Kristensen won the league title and national cup with Ajax, who also reached the Champions League semi-finals. "It was a great learning experience, a great privilege to be part of that team."

"I was thrown into a group with team-mates who were better than me. You have to accept that, too. I learned a great deal in those eighteen months, but I also knew I wasn't going to get many minutes. That's why I moved on," said the 29-year-old defender.