Barcelona appointed Ronald Koeman as their new manager on August 19th.
Koeman was in charge of the Netherlands national team and stepped down from his position with Oranje in order to return to his former club.
Weeks after his arrival at the Camp Nou, the La Liga side were linked with a handful of Dutch players, including Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum and Lyon’s Memphis Depay.
The midfielder’s contract with the Reds will expire after this season and he was constantly linked with the Catalan club in the last window.
It was then suggested the English champions will allow the 30-year-old to join Barcelona and use the funds from his sale to sign Thiago Alcântara. Liverpool completed the Spaniard’s signing and were also successful in retaining the former Newcastle United star.
Koeman said, “He’s very good, but he’s playing for Liverpool. He may be an option for the future, but I can’t say more.”
Wijnaldum has so far not signed an extension with Jürgen Klopp’s side, meaning he can leave Liverpool as a free agent next summer, if the Premier League winners fail to tie him down to a new deal.
