New Al-Ittihad winger Steven Bergwijn has hit back at Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman’s criticism of his move to the Saudi Pro League, saying he would not play for his country with the outspoken manager in charge.
Bergwijn moved from Ajax Amsterdam to Al-Ittihad earlier this week for a fee in the region of €20m, leading Koeman to make no secret of the idea of closing the door on the 26-year-old.
Because the players care more about money than facing the challenges of competing in European football leagues.
Of course, the speedy winger did not want to be insulte alone, and hit back at the legendary team that won Euro 1988, saying that he did not want to work with you either.
“I don’t even want to play under Koeman anymore,” he told De Telegraph.
“I don’t want to play someone who portrays us the way you did to the media,”
“Actually, you just called to hear my side of the story – but what you did was you never talk to me before.”
“If you were the head coach of the national team, you should have called me first. Now I have to listen to you rambling on TV.”
“We had some beautiful moments together, we could talk easily, but when you do this, it really disappoints me.”
“Before that, I also made some bad public comments about Brian Brobbey – saying he was not smart, weak tactically.”
“That kind of behavior is not something you should treat the players under your care. If you continue to behave like this, all the good deeds you have accumulate will be lost.”
Bergwijn made his debut for the Promotion Ufabet Netherlands in 2018 when Koeman was first in charge , and has made 35 appearances for the club, scoring eight goals throughout his career.