Frenkie de Jong is no stranger to the spotlight at Barcelona.But after years of uncertainty — with Barca previously trying to sell him to Manchester United in 2022 and 2023 — they appeared to finally be in a good place together last season.The Netherlands midfielder was enjoying arguably his best spell at the club since joining from Ajax in 2019. He had grown in importance to Hansi Flick’s team, questions over his future had largely disappeared and, in October 2025, Barca rewarded him with a new contract until 2029.This summer, however, tensions have risen again.There have been questions about how De Jong’s fitness was managed with the Netherlands at the World Cup, frustration over the 29-year-old’s latest knee injury and disagreement on how that should be dealt with.In an emotionally charged interview with club media on Friday, the Dutchman responded to this by taking aim at “damaging” and “false” media reports about his physical condition, attitude and relationship with Flick — strongly denying that he refused to play in last season’s Champions League quarter-final second leg with Atletico Madrid.Here, in an article informed by conversations with multiple sources — all of whom asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — The Athletic explains why there is so much noise around De Jong right now.Why is there so much focus on De Jong?The main factor is the knee injury he suffered at the World Cup.De Jong picked up that issue during a training session during the tournament and played through pain in the Netherlands’ round-of-32 tie against Morocco, in which the Dutch were eliminated on penalties.In his interview with Barca’s in-house media on Friday, De Jong said initial assessments during the World Cup showed signs of “a small problem”.The Netherlands were knocked out of the World Cup after losing to Morocco on penalties (Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images)He added: “Everyone knew about it. They said I could continue playing. I also asked about it and they assured me that it couldn’t get worse.”When De Jong returned to Barcelona on July 13, he reported that he was still feeling pain. Further examination revealed a more serious injury than was initially thought: a tear to the medial collateral ligament in his right knee.Sources say Barcelona believed surgery offered a quicker route back to full fitness — but that De Jong ruled it out. He is instead now following a conservative treatment plan.“Right now I’m doing work with the physical therapists,” De Jong said in his interview. “We’ve made a plan which everyone knows about and everyone agrees with.”How has this led to new tension? According to dressing-room sources, Flick was frustrated by De Jong playing through injury at the World Cup.