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Steven Bergwijn has fired back at Ronald Koeman, saying he no longer wants to play for the Netherlands coach after he publicly criticised the player\u2019s move from Ajax to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Koeman made it clear Bergwijn is no longer in his plans because he believes the winger\u2019s transfer was based on financial incentive and not sporting challenge. Now Bergwijn has said he is angry that Koeman didn\u2019t speak to him before going public with his comments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even want to play under Koeman anymore,\u201d Bergwijn told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, per BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t play for someone who portrays me like he has done in the media. He could have called me, heard my side of the story. How can he say such things without talking to me?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he had been a committed national coach, he would have called me first. Now I had to hear about it on TV. I\u2019ve had many beautiful moments with him, so this is far too easy and I\u2019m disappointed with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bergwijn has enjoyed a decent international career with the Oranje, scoring eight times in 35 appearances, despite rarely holding down a place in the starting line-up. Koeman used him twice during Netherlands\u2019 run to the semi-finals at Euro 2024, and neither start yielded longer than 45 minutes on the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe book is basically closed,\u201d said Koeman on Tuesday, per the Mirror. \u201cI think that when you\u2019re 26, the ambition should be sporting and not financial.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could have stayed at Ajax, that\u2019s not bad either. And I think they pay pretty well there too. Anyway, everyone has a different view and it\u2019s their choice. I personally wouldn\u2019t have made it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bergwijn is not the first player to have his international career come crashing to a halt after moving to Saudi Arabia. Midfielder Jordan Henderson\u2019s long-standing place in the England squad quickly diminished upon switching Liverpool for Al-Ettifaq, a transfer that lasted just half a season before Ajax brought him back to Europe.<\/p>\n
The move was too late for Henderson to push himself into Gareth Southgate\u2019s Euro 2024 squad, the drop in intensity influencing the ageing player\u2019s absence as younger stars such as Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher emerged.<\/p>\n
Bergwijn\u2019s varied career has regularly seen him on the move. Tottenham came calling after he made his name at PSV Eindhoven, but despite a couple of memorable highlights, he failed to remain in the first team and was quickly sold to Ajax.<\/p>\n
Spurs fans will remember his brilliant debut goal against Manchester City, or when he netted twice during injury time to secure a stunning 3-2 comeback against Leicester as a positive snapshot of what the player can do.<\/p>\n
Koeman, who gave Bergwijn his international debut in 2018, is no stranger to criticising his players in front of the media, having suggested in November 2023 that Ajax striker Brian Brobbey lacked technical ability.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had previously publicly expressed an opinion about Brobbey, which was also not nice and which he later said was not smart,\u201d said Bergwijn. \u201cThat is not how you treat your own players. If he continues like this, he will lose all his credibility.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sign up to Miguel Delaney\u2019s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel\u2019s Delaney\u2019s free weekly newsletter Steven Bergwijn has fired back at Ronald Koeman, saying he no longer wants to play for the Netherlands coach after he publicly criticised the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n