Frenkie de Jong is a "complete player" who may sometimes be undervalued by those who do not play alongside him, so says Xavi.

De Jong has been mooted as a potential option to stand in for Virgil van Dijk as captain for the Netherlands' upcoming Nations League games against Greece and Germany.

And on Tuesday, he was a topic of conversation for Netherlands coach Xavi, who also worked with De Jong at Barcelona.

That is after De Jong was played out of position at right-back during the second half of Barca's win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

Asked if De Jong's quality is not truly appreciated, Xavi told reporters: "Perhaps among the public, but not among his team-mates.

"If you play with him every day, you end up truly appreciating him. He's a complete player."

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Of playing at right-back, De Jong said: "Everybody knows I'm a midfielder," in what could be seen as a message to Barca boss Hansi Flick.

On whether he feels undervalued, De Jong added: "Everyone has their own opinion about it. There's no single truth.

"As a player, perhaps you're more likely to feel a bit underestimated."

He told ESPN: "People don't watch matches regularly. Few are those who follow the full 90 minutes. They don't really understand the game, and they don't realise what is happening on the pitch, or why decisions are made.

"The easiest way to assess a player is, of course, to look at whether he scores or assists. As for me, these numbers are much lower, of course."