PSG trying to hijack Barcelona’s pursuit of Wijnaldum

Former Liverpool midfielder Gini Wijnaldum has long been linked with a move to Barcelona, resulting in a reunion with former Netherlands national team coach Ronald Koeman. The player is in contact with Barcelona representatives and was ‘close’ to finalising an agreement with them alone. 

However, according to renowned transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, PSG have decided to act late and offer Wijnaldum a contract with a salary higher than what Barcelona are offering him. 

Both clubs are offering the midfielder a deal until 2024, but PSG have the upper hand financially due to their ‘top contract offer’. The player is expected to make his final decision regarding his next destination in the next 24 to 48 hours. 

Bayern Munich were also rumoured to be interested in his services, but they have now turned their attention to Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez instead. 

Wijnaldum was pursued by Barcelona last summer as well, along with Memphis Depay. However, both deals failed to go through since the club were in a very difficult financial situation and could not strike an agreement with Liverpool or Lyon for their respective Dutch players. 

Now that both the players have their contracts expiring at the end of the month, they are free to choose their next destination without Barcelona or any other club having to worry about transfer fees. The Blaugrana have already announced the signings of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal in three consecutive days, and if things go according to plan, they are not done yet.