May 23, 2021, is a date that will forever be etched into the history books of Liverpool Football Club.
After 15 months of isolation due to the Coronavirus, the final day of the 2020/21 campaign allowed supporters, albeit a reduced number, to return to Anfield as restrictions which had been in place to combat the pandemic were slowly eased as life little by little returned to some form of normality.
Having sat at the top of the Premier League on Christmas day 2020, a difficult second half of the season, culminating in six straight league defeats at Anfield – the club’s worst run since 1954, ended Liverpool’s chances of retaining their status as English football’s team to beat.
But a promising revival from April onwards, kick-started by Fabinho’s return to the base of midfield and the introduction of Nat Phillips, saw Jurgen Klopp’s side finish the season in impressive fashion as they clinched Champions League qualification and a third-place finish thanks to a 2-0 victory on the final day of the season against Crystal Palace.
A double from former red Sadio Mane was the cue for plenty of celebration around Anfield after a distasteful period for match-going supporters, who had been forced to exercise their passion for their clubs from the safety of their homes, was ended with the familiar sight of an Anfield triumph.
However, there was a footnote to the occasion on a historic afternoon at Anfield. Gini Wijnaldum emerged from the tunnel shortly after the final whistle to the sight of his team-mates, and fellow Anfield history-makers, gathered on either side of the Main Stand tunnel – where Wijnaldum arose to a marvellous reception from the 10,000 supporters present.
Arms lofted in appreciation of his reception, Wijnaldum trudged through a guard of honour made up of his colleagues, where an emotional Klopp, who was quick to initiate the chant of the then Reds’ No.5, said his goodbyes to one of the finest midfielders Anfield has ever seen.
After a long impasse in contract negotiations between club officials, Wijnaldum and his agent, Humphry Nijman, the midfielder walked away from Merseyside, after failing to agree on fresh terms, to join Ligue 1 side PSG. Although he remained tight-lipped about Wijnaldum’s future in the days before his exit became public, Klopp was quick to heap praise on the Dutchman’s contributions during his five-year spell.
“He is an architect of our success,” wrote the Liverpool manager in his programme notes ahead of the clash against Crystal Palace. “We have built this Liverpool on his legs, lungs, brain and his huge, beautiful heart.
“If – and it is still is if – he goes, he does so knowing we as his team-mates are eternally grateful for having this special human being come into our lives.
“I love him and he will always be family.”
But fast forward a little over twelve months and it seems that the Dutchman’s career in Paris has been wrecked before it was even given the chance to get going. Despite winning the Ligue 1 title last campaign, it was a season to forget for the French heavyweights as manager Mauricio Pochettino was relieved of his duties just days after the season ended, which had been stained by an embarrassing Champions League elimination to Real Madrid in March.
And now it has been reported that new manager Christophe Galtier has no interest in handing the midfielder the chance to revive his disappointing first season with the Parisians, which saw him start in just 18 of their 38 Ligue 1 games, as he’s been left out of the club’s pre-season tour of Japan.
Jose Mourinho and AS Roma appear to be close to rescuing Wijnaldum for the 2022/23 season as a season-long loan looks likely to be agreed between both sides. However, just one year after making the switch to the French capital, Wijnaldum’s move leaves a sour taste for everyone involved – except Liverpool.
Having achieved almost everything there is to win in England during his time at Anfield, there will not have been many connected with Liverpool Football Club who would have begrudged Wijnaldum for wanting to seek pastures new – in the same way Sadio Mane did – just months before his 31st birthday.
Unlike the Senegal international who made it clear as early as last year that footballing decisions were behind his desire to leave, Wijnaldum repeatedly voiced his eagerness to prolong his five-year stay at Merseyside while contract negotiations rumbled on.
“A few months ago, I wanted to stay at Liverpool, but without going into the details, I didn’t get the feeling they wanted to keep me”, he told L’Equipe in September 2021.
“In these cases, you have to move forward. Barcelona came up.
“I was keen on the idea of signing for Barcelona. But the negotiations lasted a while and eventually, PSG came forward.”
Despite the reason for all parties being unable to overcome an impasse in negotiations not leaking into the public domain as of yet, Wijnaldum’s decision to turn his back on whatever terms had been offered to him at Anfield and join the Qatari-backed institution seems likely to be a financially motivated one.
For Liverpool, there can be no regrets about Wijnaldum’s exit despite Klopp’s glowing appraisal of the midfielder in the days before his final Anfield appearance. Last season the Reds, in their first season in six years without the Dutchman, came within a whisker of achieving an unprecedented quadruple as a 63-game season, which eventually ended in disappointment, was sealed with a first cup double in 21 years.
And during Klopp’s near seven-year stay at Anfield, it isn’t the first time a player has underestimated the Reds’ long-term footballing aspirations, with Wijnaldum treading a similar path to both Emre Can and Philippe Coutinho. Unlike the duo who left Anfield in 2018, the PSG man was crucial to Liverpool ending their seven-year trophy drought during the 2018/19 Champions League campaign as he fired an unforgettable brace in the semi-final encounter with Barcelona.
Meanwhile, Coutinho and Can both departed Merseyside while Liverpool were still widely regarded as a ‘stepping stone’ on the European football ladder, with the duo swapping Anfield for Barcelona and Juventus respectively. Though, much like Wijnaldum, their moves away from Anfield failed to materialise as they mustered up just 188 appearances between them at their new homes before both clubs decided to cash in on their services.
And even four-and-a-half years later, the advice the Liverpool manager issued to his wantaway Brazilian, Coutinho, has become the perfect mantra for any member of the Reds’ squad eyeing up a move elsewhere.
“Stay here and they will end up building a statue in your honour.
“Go somewhere else, to Barcelona, to Bayern Munich, to Real Madrid, and you will be just another player. Here you can be something more.”
