On 26 January 2006, de Jong signed a four and a half year contract at German Bundesliga club Hamburg. He moved there for about €1 million. He played for Hamburg for the first time two days later. In the match, Hamburg lost 2–1 to Nuremberg. In March 2006, de Jong scored the winning goal in Bayern Munich's first ever loss at the Allianz Arena. The week after, he got his first red card in a UEFA Cup match against Rapid Bucharest. He had to stop playing in April because he needed surgery on a knee problem. The injury also meant that he could not play for the Netherlands at the 2006 World Cup. However, after becoming fit again, he was put on standby.