PARIS: Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window, has insisted that he originally wanted to extend his stay with former club Liverpool FC.
The midfielder says that a lack of faith from Liverpool officials led to his departure from Anfield, as he has claimed that they "did not give me the feeling of wanting to keep me".
"You follow your feeling," the 30-year-old told L'Equipe, as per goal.com. "Several months ago, I had expressed the desire to stay in Liverpool but, without going into details, Liverpool did not give me the feeling of wanting to keep me. In these cases, we have to move forward."
Arriving from Liverpool, the Netherlands international midfielder signed with the club from the French capital until June 30, 2024.
Born in Rotterdam, and a product of the Sparta Rotterdam youth academy, he played for two of the biggest clubs in his homeland in Feyenoord (135 matches, 25 goals) and then PSV Eindhoven (154 matches, 56 goals) with whom he won the 2014-15 Eredivisie title.
After a season at Newcastle United, 'Gini' joined Liverpool FC in the summer of 2016. The versatile midfielder won the 2019 UEFA Champions League with the Reds and the English Premier League crown in 2019-2020. He made 237 appearances and scored 22 goals for the Reds, also lifting the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in 2020.
Georginio Wijnaldum has also become, at 30 years of age, a key member of the Dutch national team in recent years where he has earned 75 caps, netting 22 goals and helped the Netherlands finish third at the FIFA World Cup 2014. Before that, Gini had represented his country at U17, U19 and U21 level.