'He made a mistake' - Wijnaldum slammed for ditching Barcelona in favour of PSG
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 5 Apr 2022 13:54 CDT
- 3 min read
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum "made a mistake" in choosing the French side over Barcelona last summer, according to Rafael van der Vaart.
Van de Vaart, who is currently the interim manager of Danish second division team Esbjerg fB, made 109 appearances for the Netherlands national side, scoring 25 goals, and doesn't think his fellow countryman's decision in 2021 was the right one, a report from Football Espana details.
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Upon the expiration of his contract at Liverpool, Wijnaldum opted to decline the Anfield side's offer of a new deal in pursuit of a new adventure. It had seemed as though Barcelona were the team he would choose, with several reports suggesting he would sign for the Catalan giants, but despite receiving an offer from the Blaugrana, he picked PSG instead.
Wijnaldum was one of several big signings the French club made last summer, with Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi also arriving on free transfers, while Achraf Hakimi was signed following his impressive spell at Inter Milan.
However, despite an excellent European Championship campaign personally, in which he scored three goals as Netherlands progressed from the group stages but fell at the round of 16 hurdle, Wijnaldum has struggled to adapt to life in Paris.
Although PSG are the front-runners in Ligue 1 and currently top the table by 12 points, it's not been smooth-sailing in the league. The side have won 21 games, but Mauricio Pochettino has come under fire for their performances in the division, as well as their exit to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Wijnaldum, who has 86 Netherlands caps to his name, has managed to rack up more league minutes than both Idrissa Gueye and Marco Verratti this season, but didn't play a single minute in the two legs of the last-16 tie with Real Madrid, despite being on the bench in both games.
Furthermore, although he has started plenty of games, Wijnaldum is often withdrawn early and as a result has played just 54% of the available Ligue 1 minutes this season.
One of the first names on the teamsheet at Liverpool has been forced to settle with a slightly less key role at PSG, and Van der Vaart feels it's not a surprise.
What has been said?
According to Football Espana, Van der Vaart believes: "Wijnaldum made a mistake by choosing Paris Saint-Germain. Now Georginio will understand the importance of knowing how to choose."
Van der Vaart played for Barcelona's arch-rivals Real Madrid for two years, before leaving to join Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Wijaldum featured off the bench in PSG's win over Lorient at the weekend, but started the five games that proceeded that.
