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Netherlands international Steven Bergwijn has hit back at national team coach Ronald Koeman over the player’s Saudi move.
The forward was dropped from the Netherlands Nations League squad. This is despite playing a key role in the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 semi-final run earlier this year.
Koeman stated Bergwijn’s move to Saudi at the age of 26 means he no longer has the quality to compete for the national team.
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The gaffer openly criticised Bergwijn’s move to the Saudi Pro League, expressing his disappointment. He firmly stated that as long as he remains coach, Bergwijn won’t receive future national team call-ups.
The former Barcelona manager believes playing in Saudi Arabia represents a decline in competitive football for Bergwijn. According to him, players from top European leagues are more qualified for the international stage.
Bergwijn switches to Al Ittihad
Bergwijn moved from Ajax to Al Ittihad on 2 Sept in a deal worth €21 million ($23.3m). He will play under veteran manager Laurent Blanc.
At Al Ittihad, Bergwijn will play alongside Moussa Diaby, Houssem Aouar, Fabinho, Karim Benzema, and N’Golo Kanté.
Response to Koeman
In his response to Koeman, the former Tottenham player said: “I don’t even want to play for Ronald Koeman anymore. I won’t play for someone who portray me like he has done in the media”.
“He could have called me, hear my side of the story. How can he say such things without talking to me?”, he told Telegraaf.
On why he moved to Saudi, the player said: “Of course I’ll improve gigantic financial wise, I won’t lie. But sportive wise it’s also interesting”.
Tags: Oranje, Netherlands, Nations League, Saudi Pro League, Al Ittihad, Ajax, Steven Bergwijn, Ronald Koeman, Barcelona, #UNL, #SPL, Tottenham, #NewsRoundTheClock, #nrtcnewsnigeria, #nrtcnews, #nrtcnigeria, #nrtcsports.