Georginio Wijnaldum

Profile Overview

Georginio Gregion Emile Wijnaldum (né Boateng; pronounced [dʑoːrˈdʑiɲoː ʋɛiˈnɑldʏm]; born 11 November 1990) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad.
A youth product of Eredivisie side Feyenoord, Wijnaldum became the youngest player ever to represent the club when he made his debut in 2007, and went on to play 134 matches over the course of a five-year spell, winning the KNVB Cup in 2008. Following his departure from Feyenoord, Wijnaldum spent four seasons at PSV, where he won the KNVB Cup in his first season and the Eredivisie in his last, a season where he also earned the Dutch Footballer of the Year award.
In 2015, Wijnaldum joined Premier League side Newcastle United for £14.5 million, before departing a year later to join Liverpool in a £23 million deal. At Liverpool, Wijnaldum took on a role deeper in the midfield than in his previous clubs. In the 2018–19 season, Wijnaldum scored twice against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final second leg comeback as Liverpool went through 4–3 on aggregate, and he started as the club were victorious in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final. In the following season, he played an integral role as Liverpool won the UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Premier League, the club's first league title in 30 years. Wijnaldum appeared 237 times in a Liverpool shirt and is often regarded as a club legend who played a major part in Liverpool's successes over his years at the club. Wijnaldum signed for French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021 on a free transfer. He spent a loan stint at Italy with Roma for the 2022–23 season, and later left PSG to move to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Ettifaq in September 2023 and then Al-Ittihad in 2026.
Wijnaldum is a full Dutch international, having earned over 90 caps since making his debut for the Netherlands senior team in 2011, and was a member of the squads which finished third at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and runners-up in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. He also took part at the 2020 and 2024 editions of the UEFA European Championship.