Gini Wijnaldum Addresses His Future

When Gini Wijnaldum represented the club in Budapest for the pre-RB Leipzig press conference, it’s unsurprising that the questioning quickly turned to his future with the club. The drama of his continued contract negotiations has percolated across the English press for months now. Rumours of his imminent transfer to the likes of Barcelona after his contract expires have plagued player and club this whole season.

Wijnaldum candidly addressed the situation when asked about it.

“At the moment, there is no news as it is right now,” he said. “I would lie if I come with news. The only thing that I can say is that I’m really happy at the club - I’m really happy with the team, the staff, and really happy with the fans for who I play. That’s the only thing that I can say. It’s not that I am not happy and that I have to leave or something like that, but it’s not as easy as everyone thinks it is to make some decisions for your future because you have to think about everything.

“First you have to negotiate with the club and those kind of things and it’s so difficult to deal with all kind of things and that’s why I think it takes so long. I think also [that with] the situation we are in right now, it’s not the most important thing right now. I think the most important thing is to get back on track, to start winning games again, and then we will see. But until now, the only thing what I can say is that I am really happy here; happy with the fans, happy with my team, happy with the staff, with who I work with. My family is happy here. But beside that, there is no news.”

Every day that passes is one day less that the parties have to come to an agreement, if they even want to. Wijnaldum has been a huge part of Klopp’s midfield since he joined from Newcastle in 2016. He’s become a fan favorite for his crisp passing and efficient and aggressive playing style. However, the Dutchman is now 30 years old, which is likely a factor for the club in their negotiations.

What can’t be denied is that Wijnaldum has responded to this situation with complete professionalism the whole way through.