Thursday, July 22, 2021 at 13:40• Rian Rosendaal • Last update: 13:51

Georginio Wijnaldum had no complaints about interest when it was announced that he would leave Liverpool after five seasons. The thirty-year-old midfielder received an offer from Paris Saint-Germain, among other things, and it soon became clear that the French superpower would be his next employer. Trainer Mauricio Pochettino already wanted to bring Wijnaldum in during his time at Tottenham Hotspur, but a departure from Liverpool was not yet on the agenda.

“My contract with Liverpool expired and several clubs had already signed up for me,” Wijnaldum said at his presentation on Thursday PSG TV back to this summer’s transfer troubles. “When PSG came forward, the contact was very good, so I only wanted to go to this club. Mauricio Pochettino wanted me at Tottenham Hotspur, so the contact with him was already good. In addition, PSG clearly showed that they wanted to attract me very much. That played a major role in my final choice,” emphasizes the the Dutch international.

Wijnaldum wants to be important at PSG from an attacking point of view, especially given the French club’s attacking philosophy. In that respect, there are similarities with Liverpool’s way of playing. “That philosophy also suits me well and I can happily indulge in PSG. It’s the kind of football I love.” Good football must ultimately yield prizes, Wijnaldum also knows. “They made it to the Champions League final (in 2020, ed.) and were in the semi-finals last season. They are working on a great project here and we are building a team to achieve all the goals.”

The summer addition is looking forward to his debut at the Parc des Princes, especially now that supporters are again allowed to be present at home games of PSG. “I really want to get to know that stadium as a player. I was very impressed when we played here with Liverpool in the Champions League. PSG has supporters who never give up and are 90 minutes behind their team. PSG then won 2-1 and the fans certainly had a large part in that,” concludes Wijnaldum, who is stuck in Paris until mid-2024.