Former Liverpool teammates were reunited yesterday, as Gini Wijnaldum made his return to the Netherlands national team.
Having been a mainstay for the Dutch during his Liverpool career, Wijnaldum hasn’t played for his country since June 2023. But having been in good form for Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq of late, the 33-year-old has come back into the fold.
And joining up with his countrymen for the first time in almost a year yesterday, there was one person Gini wanted to see above all others: Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.
The pair are great friends and were often seen together during their shared years with the Reds. And taking to Instagram yesterday, Wijnaldum shared a picture of he and Van Dijk alongside a happy caption.
“Reunited! Looking forward to playing with my big friend again,” wrote the former Liverpool No.5 Aww.
Wijnaldum and Van Dijk reunited
It’s nice to see Gini back on the international stage with Van Dijk. As one of Liverpool’s most popular players of the Jurgen Klopp era, he’ll always hold a special place in Reds’ fans hearts.
His two goals during the 2019 comeback over Barcelona mean that Wijnaldum’s name is written large in Liverpool folklore.
Since he left Anfield in 2021 though, the former Feyenoord man’s career has gone rather downhill.
A free transfer to PSG was a little misjudged, with Wijnaldum never fitting in with the French club’s litany of stars. He had a better time on-loan at Roma last year, but a broken leg scuppered any hopes of making the deal permanent.
So, like a whole raft of slightly over the hill footballers, Wijnaldum opted for a move to Saudi Arabia last summer. Initially reunited with Jordan Henderson and with Gerrard at the helm, Gini slotted in well with the Liverpool feeling at Al Ettifaq.
However, things turned a little south, as Gerrard struggled to steer the Dammam based side over the winter.
Now though, things have improved. Sitting in sixth place in the Saudi Pro League, Stevie G has steadied the ship with Wijnaldum one of his key players.
That this is enough to have earned him a recall to Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side is perhaps an indication of where the Dutch are currently at more than anything. But still, it’s nice to see Gini’s career flourishing in its latter stages.
Let’s hope for some more content between Wijnaldum, Van Dijk and even maybe Cody Gakpo in the coming days.