Al Ettifaq FC have completed the signing of Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum from Paris Saint Germain for a fee of €8 million.
Wijnaldum has signed a three-year deal with the Saudi Pro League club, which is valid until June 30, 2026.
Confirming the departure of Wijnaldum from the Parc Des Princes, PSG put out a statement which reads:
“Dutch international Georginio Wijnaldum has joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq FC on a permanent transfer.”
Paris Saint Germain also wished Wijnaldum all the best for the future.
They wrote: “The club would like to wish Georginio all the best for the rest of his career.”
The 32-year-old made 38 appearances for the Parisians, scoring 3 goals and providing 3 assists across all competitions.
He becomes the 4th signing for Al Ettifaq this summer, having signed Jordan Henderson, Jack Hendry, Moussa Dembélé, Hamdan Al-Shammrani, Mohamed Abdulrahman, and Mohammed Al-Dawsari.
Georginio Wijnaldum will be teaming up with former teammate at Liverpool, Jordan Henderson as Steven Gerrard’s side look to achieve success in the 2023/24 season.
Wijnaldum joined Paris Saint Germain from Liverpool on July 1, 2021, and he went on loan to AS Roma for the entirety of the 2022/23 season.
The former Newcastle United midfielder made 23 appearances for the Giallorossi last season, scoring 2 goals and providing 1 assist across all competitions.
Al Ettifaq did a special unveiling for the Dutch star, with a 42-second long video that showed Georginio Wijnaldum donning the Liverpool shirt and the Netherlands national team shirt.
Wijnaldum was also seen in the video wearing the shirt of Al Ettifaq, and the footage showed a highlight when he scored a screamer.
Al Ettifaq statement on the signing of Georginio Wijnaldum
Confirming the arrival of Georginio Wijnaldum to the Damman-based club, Al Ettifaq put out a statement on their website which reads:
“Al-Ettifaq Club management has completed the contract with Dutch football midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum to defend the colors of Fares Al-Dahna for 3 seasons, coming from the French club Paris Saint-Germain.”
The 32-year-old has played for several clubs in his career, namely; PSV Eindhoven, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Newcastle United, Liverpool FC, Paris Saint-Germain, and AS Roma.
Al Ettifaq have made impressive additions in midfield, defense, and attack, as they look to compete amongst the big guns in the Saudi Pro League.
They began the 2023/24 league season by defeating Al Nassr 2-1, before recording a comfortable 2-0 win over Al Hazem.
Al Ettifaq afterward dropped 5 points in 2 games, drawing 1-1 with Al Khaleej and then losing 2-0 to Al Hilal.
However, they have returned to winning ways, dispatching Damac FC by 3-1 on Matchday 5.
Georginio Wijnaldum will be coming into the set-up to offer more bite in midfield, in view of a grueling season ahead.
Meanwhile, Wijnaldum has made 90 appearances for the Netherlands, scoring 24 goals and providing 9 assists.
