Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong has launched a blistering attack on Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, insisting the reporter's claims about his conduct at the club were "false" and "simply not true".

In a wide-ranging, unfiltered interview with the club's own media, the Dutchman — who has previously hit out at the press — expressly called out Romero and admitted he had grown "angry and irritated" by a series of reports he believes were fabricated.

The Atletico claim that started it all

De Jong reserved his strongest words for a claim from Romero that he had refused to play for Barcelona in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid last season — an accusation the midfielder flatly denied.

"For example, Gerard Romero. He said, and he started all of this, that I refused to play against Atletico in the Champions League last year. That's false. It's false. It's simply not true," he told the club's media.

"As I said, my dream is to play for Barca, especially in important Champions League matches. Of course I want to play. I don't understand how you can say that I refused to play. And obviously, if people get angry and if that's the only information they have, I understand. That's why I'm explaining."

Taking aim at Romero, again

The 28-year-old did not stop there, accusing Romero of spreading further misinformation about his relationship with the coaching staff and the board — and of claiming the midfielder was being "punished".

"Then he said that my relationship with the coach is very bad, which is completely false. I have a very good relationship with the coach. I talk to him a lot. You can ask him about all of this. It's completely false.

"They've also said that my relationship with the club is bad, which is also not true, because I talk a lot with people at the club, with the directors and so on. Then they said I'm being punished. That was Gerard Romero again, and I want to mention it because I think he's already told more lies in the past.

"But I'm not going to let it slide anymore, because he needs to understand that if he puts things out that aren't true, I'm going to call him out on it."

Clearing the air to focus on recovery

De Jong also made clear his motivation for speaking out, admitting he wanted to "get that anger off his chest" so he could focus full attention on recovering from the knee injury that is currently keeping him sidelined.

The midfielder insisted he is doing everything possible to return to the pitch as quickly as he can, and that his desire to play for the club — particularly in the biggest Champions League nights — remains undimmed.