Steven Bergwijn has criticized Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman for ending his international career due to his move to Saudi Arabia.
The 26-year-old forward was accused by Koeman of lacking “sporting ambition” after transferring from Ajax to Al-Ittihad, which led to him being excluded from the national team.
Bergwijn, who has been part of the Dutch national team since 2018 and was recently in the squad for the European Championship, saw Koeman’s critical comments—made during a news conference on Tuesday—on television and was upset by them.
“You don’t treat players like that,” he told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. “I have always been proud to play for the Dutch team, but with this coach, I no longer want to.”
Bergwijn expressed his “disappointment” in Koeman for not speaking to him directly and said he doesn’t want to play under him anymore.
Koeman had chosen Bergwijn to start in the last 16 and quarterfinals of Euro 2024. The former Tottenham forward also started against Argentina in the World Cup quarterfinals in 2022, when the Dutch were coached by Louis van Gaal.
The Netherlands will play Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday and Germany on Tuesday.
