Van Hanegem: ”I would walk away from all that unjustified criticism”

Willem van Hanegem takes on Georginio Wijnaldum. The former Feyenoord player made the sensitive switch to Saudi Arabia last summer. During the international match with the Dutch national team, the 34-year-old midfielder received many critical questions about this. Wijnaldum was also called a money-grabber on various social media platforms.

“It’s nice for Georginio Wijnaldum that the week is over,” Van Hanegem begins his story in the newspaper. ”Large Dutch companies fly back and forth to Saudi Arabia to do business there. When Wopke Hoekstra was still minister, he went there to strengthen ties with the country. But Wijnaldum is not allowed to play football there? Who wouldn’t?”

”He was a money-grabber, I also read. When he left Feyenoord, he donated an amount to the youth academy that they were very grateful for,” Van Hanegem explains that Wijnaldum does not only make choices in his career based on money. In the past, Feyenoord was forced to sell Wijnaldum and PSV put an amount of five million euros on the table. The midfielder donated an amount from his own pocket to the youth academy of the Rotterdam team. ”Unsolicited. He just asked that they not tell the press.”

Wijnaldum had hopes of returning to Feyenoord last summer, but given the financial picture, a transfer was not possible. ”Paris Saint-Germain asked ten million and so he could not go to Feyenoord. And here we are angry. I would walk away from all that unwarranted criticism. But not Wijnaldum. He answers, heads a ball in against the Scots and gives what he has in the Orange shirt. Yes, I would take that with me if I were Koeman. Just like Wieffer, Frimpong and Simons by the way.”