Steven Bergwijn has been banished from the Netherlands international squad by head coach Ronald Koeman over his move to the Saudi Pro League.
Ex-Tottenham winger Bergwijn’s move from Dutch giants Ajax to Al Ittihad — previously led by former Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo — was confirmed on Monday and Koeman made it clear in no uncertain terms that the 26-year-old’s Oranje career was over for as long as he remains in charge.
Koeman believes Bergwin’s situation is from that of experienced midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, who joined Al Ettifaq from Paris Saint-Germain last September but remained part of the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 plans.
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"Georginio Wijnaldum once went that way because he had a problem at Paris Saint-Germain," Koeman said. "He could only go to that country to play football until January.
"In Bergwijn's case it is that he goes at the age of 26. Sporting ambition does not prevail. Not everyone thinks, fortunately, the same way. I think when you are 26 the main ambition should be sporting and not financial, but those are choices players make."
"He could have stayed at Ajax, couldn't he? And I think they pay okay at Ajax too. But yes, it's his choice.
"The book is basically closed for him, though. He has not contacted me about this. I think he knows how I think about this."
Bergwijn marked his Spurs debut with a goal in a 2-0 Premier League win over Manchester City in February 2020. Unfortunately, that remained arguably the high point of his career in north London, which amounted to eight goals and nine assists in 83 appearances.
