The coach of the Netherlands national football team, Ronald Koeman, has described Steven Bergwijn’s summer move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad as a lack of “sportive ambition” on the part of the player.
Ajax captain Bergwijn was sold to Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad for €21 million in the largest transfer of a relatively quiet summer.
The deal signals a move for a player who joined from Tottenham Hotspur for €30 million two years ago but failed to establish himself as a first-team member in London.
Bergwijn, who has 29 goals in 80 Ajax games and 35 international caps, stated that he has no desire to quit the club, but new coach Francesco Farioli made it clear that he is not guaranteed a position in the starting lineup.
According to the Telegraaf, the 26-year-old will earn €9 million each year in Saudi Arabia for the next three years.
“I’m glad to have put it behind me,” he told ESPN. “I didn’t have to leave; I was happy at Ajax. But in the end, you have to think of yourself.”
Technical director Alex Kroes had planned to sell several players during the summer period to raise money for new recruits, but the sale of Bergwijn on transfer deadline day was the club’s only major piece of business.
“Steven and Ajax have made no secret of the fact that, if a good offer came from abroad, he would make the move,” Kroes said on the club’s official website.
Speaking on the transfer of the player, Koeman, his national team coach, said the player’s spot on the national team is closed.
He berated the former Ajax captain for lacking “sportive ambition.”
“Steven Bergwijn goes to Saudi Arabia at age 26. It’s clear that this has nothing to do with sportive ambition. His book with the Dutch National Team is closed.”
“He probably knows I would have said this,” Koeman said.
