Georginio Wijnaldum has also opted for big money in Saudi Arabia. The 32-year-old midfielder from Rotterdam will play for Al-Ettifaq, where Steven Gerrard will become their coach.
Wijnaldum will meet again with Jordan Henderson, his former Liverpool teammate, in the Saudi Professional League. They played 156 games together in midfield RedsWith which they won the Champions League in 2019 and the English Premier League in 2020.
Wijnaldum signs a two-year contract with the Saudi club. In Europe, the summer transfer period closed on Friday evening, but Saudi Professional League clubs can still sign players until Wednesday, September 20. The agreement paid around €10 million to Paris Saint-Germain, as Wijnaldum was under contract for another year.
These stars chose Saudi Arabia and this is their salary
After five rounds, Al-Ettifaq ranks fifth in the Saudi Professional League with ten points, three points behind joint leaders Al-Hilal and Al-Taawoun. In addition to Henderson, Wijnaldum also meets French striker Moussa Dembélé, Swedish striker Robin Coyson, and Scottish defender Jack Hendry in the dressing room of his new club, which consists mainly of Saudi players.
Paris Saint-Germain cleans up
In recent weeks, Wijnaldum has no longer been allowed to train under new coach Luis Enrique, who achieved a clean sweep in Paris. Big stars such as Sergio Ramos, Neymar and Lionel Messi are gone, but Italian midfielder Marco Verratti is also leaving after 11 years with the French premier club. He is also on his way to Saudi Arabia. After another turbulent transfer summer, Kylian Mbappé remains at Paris Saint-Germain, where he has several new strikers around him such as Gonzalo Ramos, Marco Asensio, Ousmane Dembélé and Randall Kolo Mwani.
Wijnaldum moved from Liverpool to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. This club loaned him to Roma last season, where he suffered an unfortunate fracture in his leg during his first training in Roma, which kept him out of the field for a long time. After returning to Paris, he asked to terminate his contract last summer because he had no chance to play. Paris Saint-Germain have not cooperated and are aiming to impose a transfer fee for the 32-year-old midfielder. The French champion has now received it.
Wijnaldum now has 26 goals in 89 international matches with the Dutch national team. In June, he played 45 minutes twice in his country’s UEFA Nations League against Croatia and Italy, but he certainly didn’t make an impressive impression in those international matches. Ronald Koeman decided last week not to call up Wijnaldum for the two important matches in the European Championship qualifiers against Greece (in Eindhoven) and Ireland (in Dublin) next Thursday and Sunday.
Al-Ittifaq Club
@Ettifaq_AR
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