Gini Wijnaldum revealed the real reason that he wanted to leave Anfield just a year after Liverpool’s title win in 2021 and it echoes to some of the experiences that Alexis Mac Allister has expressed recently.
Speaking to the Guardian in 2021 after his departure saying that “when things went bad, (he) was the one to blame.”
Recently it was revealed by James Pearce that Alexis Mac Allister has felt that he was unfairly singled out this season for criticism.
What did Wijnaldum say in 2021?
Wijnaldum’s impact on Liverpool’s success under Klopp was incredible. The most tangible moment was when Wijnaldum came on at left-back against Barcelona and scored two to help Liverpool win by 4-0 as they needed. In the Premier League winning campaign of 2020, Gini played in 37 games and the fourth most minutes for a Liverpool player and the most as a midfielder.
The following year, Liverpool had an up-and-down season. Similar to this season, it took until the final few games for Liverpool to book their place in the Champions League for the following year. Liverpool were littered with an injury crisis at centre back. This led to Fabinho and Jordan Henderson deputising at the back and also getting injured, leaving shortages in midfield. Performances of course didn’t match up to the year before and this was difficult for fans.
“There was a moment when I didn’t feel loved and appreciated,” he says. “Not my teammates, not the people at Melwood. From them, I know … I can say they all love me and I love them. It was not from that side, more the other side.”
Wijnaldum hinted here that it was the board and senior executives who made things difficult when it came into the final year of his contract.
He then made the point, “I would have loved to remain a Liverpool player for many more years, but unfortunately, things went differently.”
Being the point of blame online
The pressure of being a professional footballer is high, particularly at the top level of the Premier League. Online fans, particularly those who have never been to Anfield, can feel that at times they can say whatever they want without consequence. Particularly in his final season, when things weren’t going well with the injury crisis, Wijnaldum shared that things became particularly bad online.
“When it went bad, I was the player who they blamed – that I wanted to leave.”
He later added, “My feeling was that the fans in the stadium and the fans on social media were two different kinds. The fans in the stadium always supported me. Even when they came back [after the Covid lockout], already knowing that I was going to leave, they still supported me and, in the end, they gave me a great farewell.”
In this current term, Alexis Mac Allister has also commented to sources that he feels like he is the player being held responsible for the poor form of this season. Liverpool fans should never want a player to leave Liverpool with a sour taste in their mouth when it is time to move on. Fans online should unite in backing all of Liverpool’s players this summer as they play at the World Cup and let them build up their excitement as they return to the AXA Training Centre ahead of the 2026/27 season.