Now in Saudi Arabia, at Al-Ettifaq, Georginio Wijnaldum has not digested his departure from PSG last summer.
On paper, it was an excellent move. When PSG got their hands on Georginio Wijnaldum in the summer of 2021, when he was at the end of his contract after five seasons spent at Liverpool, the deal seemed really good. But on the pitch, the Dutch midfielder never really confirmed the expectations placed on him.
The following year, Paris loaned it to AS Roma before, in 2023, selling it to Al-Ettifaq for 8 million euros. If Saudi Arabia is a championship that many other world-renowned players have joined recently, the Batavian international (33 years old) chose this destination reluctantly.
Wijnaldum had “no future” at PSG
His dream was rather to return to Feyenoord Rotterdam, his training club in the Netherlands, but the Ile-de-France leaders did nothing to make things easier for him. “In fact, it's like this: I had to leave Paris Saint-Germain, there was no future for me there“, he explains in an interview with ESPN.
The former Reds player was still linked until 2024 to the capital club, which did not want to give any gifts to its courtiers. “ There were almost no other options, he laments. I would have really liked to go to Feyenoord, but Paris asked for ten million euros, plus my salary. It was impossible to achieve. »
