Frenkie de Jong admits he consulted former Ajax teammate Abdelhak Nouri about moving to Barcelona.

Almost three years ago, Nouri collapsed during a friendly against Werder Bremen.

Days later it was revealed that he had suffered serious and permanent brain damage.

A year on he started to improve and had come out of his coma, though his progress was and still is gradual.

One of the more heart-warming stories of Nouri's progress has come from De Jong, his former teammate.

"I sat down with him and his mother came in," De Jong said, recounting the story of them reaching a decision of who he should leave Ajax for.

"Then she asked, 'Appie, where should Frenkie go? To Barcelona?'

"As soon as she said that, his eyebrow shot up. It was a special moment."