Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman has said Steven Bergwijn prioritised financial ambition over his own sporting aspirations after completing a €25 million ($27.6 million) move to Saudi Pro League club Al Ittihad, adding that he will not consider the forward for international duty for the foreseeable future.
Bergwijn's move from Ajax to Al Ittihad was announced on Monday and has angered Koeman, who said the transfer is different to Georginio Wijnaldum's case when he left PSG for Al Ettifaq in September 2023.
“Georginio Wijnaldum left due to a problem at Paris Saint-Germain. He was only able to go to that country to play football until January. In the case of Bergwijn, who is leaving at 26, sporting ambition does not come first. Fortunately, not everyone thinks in the same way. I think that when you are 26, your main ambition should be sporting and not financial, but those are decisions that players make.”
Bergwijn will play alongside Laurent Blanc in Saudi Arabia in a squad that includes N'Golo Kanté, Karim Benzema, Fabinho, Houssem Aouar, Predrag Rajkovic and Moussa Diaby.
Koeman said Bergwijn was not obliged to accept the Saudi offer.
“He could have stayed at Ajax, right? And I think Ajax pays well too. But yes, it's his choice,” he said.
“I have not been in that situation. I could go to Barcelona. I think that if Bergwijn could have gone to Barcelona, he would not have gone to Saudi Arabia either.”
The decision appears to have damaged Bergwijn's chances of adding 35 caps to his list for the Dutch national team.
“For him, though, the book is pretty much closed,” Koeman said of Bergwijn's chances for the national team. “He hasn't contacted me to talk about it. I think he knows what I think about it.”
Meanwhile, captain Virgil van Dijk has committed his future to the Netherlands until at least the 2026 World Cup, Koeman confirmed on Tuesday.
Koeman said he flew to Liverpool to have face-to-face talks with Van Dijk.
“I thought it was very important to go and see him and feel it with him: are you going to give everything for another two years at the highest level and still see a future for yourself? And he sees it. And I do the same with him. All the doubts are gone, he just keeps going,” Koeman said.
“He himself acknowledged that he did not reach the level that was expected of him as a player at the Euros. As captain, I think he did a great job. But maybe that's why he put too much energy into others instead of himself.”
