Gini Wijnaldum has admitted that he wanted to keep playing for Liverpool for “many more years”, despite his outing against Crystal Palace appearing to be his last for the club.
The Dutchman had been embroiled in contract discussions with the side, with neither party apparently willing to meet in the middle to extend our No.5’s stay at Anfield.
Wijnaldum to Sky Sports: "I'm fighting against tears right now. The people in Liverpool have shown me love during the five years. I will miss them, you know? I hope to have played many more years for the club but unfortunately things went different."
— David Lynch (@dmlynch) May 23, 2021
The Reds achieved a vital 2-0 victory against Roy Hodgson’s men regardless to secure third spot and Champions League football against all expectations.
It’s hard to stomach the fact that the 30-year-old will be seeking pastures new this summer, particularly given the player’s apparent wish to have remained in Merseyside.
While we can certainly understand the hesitance in handing a midfielder of Wijnaldum’s age a lengthy and lucrative contract, it seems a little strange that some kind of agreement couldn’t have been made to keep him at Anfield for at least a couple of years.
Given how robust the former Newcastle star is, we’d have to cast doubt over his levels dropping significantly before the next three years or so, but we appreciate it would still be something of a gamble to make.
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