Georginio Wijnaldum has reportedly chosen to leave Liverpool at the end of the season to join Barcelona.
The midfielder’s future has been a big talking point this season with his Anfield contract set to expire in June.
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The 30-year-old Netherlands international recently said he’d be ‘devastated’ to leave Liverpool, while manager Jurgen Klopp insisted he’d like Wijnaldum, who he says has been the club’s most consistent player this season, to stay.
“I am pretty happy with Gini. You can see that when you see most of the line-ups. He always played good, that’s why he played so many games,” Klopp said earlier this season.
“And he has played plenty of positions; different positions.”
However, the Sunday Times says the player has agreed a pre-contract deal with Barca, which will make him the first signing of Joan Laporta’s second spell as president of the club.
Wijnaldum is understood to have been a priority target of compatriot Ronald Koeman, who has been Barcelona head coach since last August.
Barca’s financial problems put them off chasing Wijnaldum last summer but the fact he’s soon to be a free agent makes his acquisition even more appealing.
Wijnaldum joined Liverpool from Newcastle in 2016 for £25million and has played a big role in helping the Reds become Premier League champions last season and European champions the season before.
The Wijnaldum performance Liverpool fans will always remember was actually against Barcelona, where the Reds incredibly turned around a 3-0 deficit to get the better of the LaLiga giants in the Champions League semi-finals in 2018/19.
He was benched for the second leg at Anfield but was brought on at half time and levelled the tie eleven minutes into the second half with two quickfire goals.
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