‘Nightmare’ season: Star made a ‘very bad choice’ leaving Liverpool

Rafael Van der Vaart believes Gini Wijnaldum made a ‘very bad choice’ when leaving Premier League giants Liverpool for Paris Saint-Germain, speaking to Ziggo Sport following PSG’s humiliating defeat to Real Madrid. 

Of course, this was not a move entirely of Wijnaldum’s doing. 

It was Liverpool’s decision not to hand the long-serving a Dutchman a new deal after all. Or, at least, not the sort of deal Wijnaldum wanted. But where the midfielder must accept some of the blame, however, revolves around his decision to swap Merseyside for the French capital. 

While Lionel Messi has faced his fair share of criticism since joining PSG, that is nothing compared to the condemnation that has come Wijnaldum’s way.

The famously hard-to-please L’Equipe even described the former PSV Eindhoven captain as a ‘nightmare’ after Wijnaldum gave away a penalty during a 3-1 defeat to Nantes recently.

Could Gini Wijnaldum return to the Premier League?

And the fact that the 31-year-old didn’t even get on the pitch during either leg of PSG’s latest Champions League capitulation will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched Wijnaldum closely since his summer switch across the Channel. 

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“(Joining PSG) was a very bad choice,” says Van der Vaart, formerly of Tottenham, Real Madrid and the Netherlands national team. “Because he also won the Champions League with Liverpool. 

“That also applies to all those other players (in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad).” 

Wijnaldum was recently linked with a return to the Premier League. Reports in January suggested that Arsenal and former employers Newcastle were keen, though no deal came close to materialising. 

Everton had also been linked. Those reports soon disappeared, however, once it became apparent that Rafa Benitez – who coached Wijnaldum during his most prolific Premier League campaign at St James’ Park – was heading for an early Goodison Park exit. 

In other news, ‘He does very little’: Thierry Henry & Peter Schmeichel argue over Liverpool star’s actions