Steven Bergwijn has criticised Ronald Koeman’s treatment of him after the Netherlands head coach said the winger would no longer be selected for the national team following his move to Al Ittihad from Ajax.
Bergwijn, 26, moved to the Saudi Pro League this summer, and Koeman accused him of prioritising money over sporting ambition and questioned whether it was the correct decision at this stage of his career.
He was not named in the Netherlands squad for September’s Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Koeman said on Wednesday “the book is basically closed” on Bergwijn’s future at international level.
“You don’t treat players like that,” Bergwijn told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “I have always considered it an honour to play for the Dutch team, but under this coach I no longer want that. I am done with someone who deliberately portrays me like this in the media.”
The Al Ittihad winger also claimed the first he heard of Koeman’s complaints were via the media and questioned why the head coach had not discussed the issue with him first.
Koeman gave Bergwijn his senior Netherlands debut during his first spell in charge of the national team in October 2018, and he has been capped 35 times at international level, scoring eight goals.
The former Tottenham Hotspur winger was part of the Netherlands squad that reached the semi-finals at this summer’s European Championship, featuring twice at the tournament.
He moved to Ajax from Spurs in 2022 and was named club captain ahead of the 2023-24 campaign following Dusan Tadic’s departure.
Bergwijn made 31 appearances in all competitions last season, providing 13 goals and five assists.
He signed a three-year deal at Al Ittihad this September and joined a squad that already includes Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho and Moussa Diaby.
“The book is basically closed to him,” Koeman said of Bergwijn this week. “He knows what I think about this. When you are 26, your main ambition should be sporting, not financial. These are choices that players make.
“I have never been in that situation, because I could join Barcelona. He could have stayed at Ajax, that’s not bad, is it? You have to respect that choice, but personally I wouldn’t (have moved).”
The Netherlands head coach clarified why he had continued to call up midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, including for his Euro 2024 squad, after he joined Saudi club Al Ettifaq from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023,
“Gini had problems at PSG and this was the only opportunity for him to still play,” Koeman said of the midfielder. “In addition, there is a difference in age (Wijnaldum moved aged 33).”
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