Wijnaldum: ‘There was nothing concrete on Barcelona transfer’

Gini Wijnaldum has revealed that his rumored move to Barcelona did not have concrete interest from the La Liga side.

The Dutch midfielder is in the final season of his contract with English Premier League champions Liverpool, but he claims that nothing concrete came from Barcelona.

With his former International Coach, Ronald Koeman, hired as Barcelona’s coach over the summer after the sacking of Quique Setien, Wijnaldum moving to Spain looked like a possibility.

Wijnaldum made the revelation during a press conference ahead of the Netherlands’ international game in the Nation’s league.

“I don’t think [the Barcelona interest] was that serious, otherwise you would have read a bit more, or more would have happened, There was nothing concrete. I didn’t have to think about it. I will stay on [with Liverpool] it looks like now. My contract will run for another 10 months. It could still change, of course, you never know that in football. So we’ll see.” Wijnaldum said.

Meanwhile, back at the Anfield, manager Jurgen Klopp stated that he wouldn’t speak about the player’s future, stating that everything is completely fine.

Wijnaldum joined the Champions in 2016 from Newcastle, making 192 appearances, and he has played four times this season in the league.

Liverpool made a handful of signings this summer with Diogo Jota joining from Wolves and also Tsimikas coming in from Greek side Olympiacos.

Meanwhile, Liverpool forward Xhedan Shaqiri has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Switzerland Football Association has announced.

The 28-year-old is self-isolating as he is on international duty with the national team. He becomes the third Liverpool player to contract the virus after Senegal striker Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara.

The Switzerland national team will play Croatia in an international friendly, as well as Spain and Germany in the UEFA Nations League.

 

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu