After five very successful years at Liverpool, Georginio Wijnaldum decided it was time to leave Anfield and try something new.
Running down his contract, the Netherlands international was the subject of a lot of attention, as a free transfer for a player of his ilk was certainly an enticing prospect for many clubs.
Paris Saint-Germain eventually won that battle, tying the 30-year-old down to a three-year contract, but his new beginnings in France haven’t gone that well.
The former Liverpool midfielder hasn’t played all that much since September, and RMC Sport point out he’s only started twice since the game against Club Brugge, where Mauricio Pochettino hooked him off at half-time.
For example, his last two outings in the league can be summed up as a nine-minute cameo against Montpellier and a 14-minute spell on the pitch as Paris Saint-Germain suffered their first defeat in Ligue 1 against Rennes.
Still, that didn’t stop Louis van Gaal from calling him up to the Netherlands squad for the current international break, although he made it clear he wasn’t all that happy about the situation.
He said: “Of course I’m worried! And I’ve already spoken about it with him the moment he joined us.”
According to Eurosport journalist Ruben Slagter, relayed by RMC Sport, the problem is the arrival of a certain Argentine.
He explained: “The major reason of him being relegated is Messi. He arrived before Messi, and I think Pochettino had other plans for him.
“He’s a player that’s easier to put on the bench than others because he isn’t going to slam his fist on the table to win his spot. He’s a nice guy. In his way of playing and personality, he doesn’t correspond to this Paris Saint-Germain.”
If that wasn’t enough, De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen goes one step further, saying: “I would point at the manager rather than the player at the moment, and the way Pochettino uses – or rather mistreats – Wijnaldum instead of giving him confidence.”
That being said, he does feel the former Liverpool star will win over the Argentine, who will ‘make him his key player in midfield’ as he has ‘the experience of playing in a winning team’.
It’s still early days for Wijnaldum at Paris Saint-Germain, and only time will tell if leaving Anfield the way he did, without giving the Reds any compensation, will end up being the right move for his career.
