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Former Tottenham star Steven Bergwijn has hit back at Ronald Koeman after the Dutch manager “closed the book” on his international career.
Bergwijn, 26, completed a €21m (£17.7m) move from Ajax to Saudi Professional League giants Al-Ittihad on Monday.
The winger has not been selected for the Netherlands’ upcoming Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany amid speculation surrounding his future.
In his press conference, Koeman criticised Bergwijn for the decision, saying it showed a lack of “sporting ambition”.
In comments published by the Dutch media The TelegramA frustrated Bergwijn responded to Koeman by insisting that “this is not how players are treated.”
Steven Bergwijn has vowed to never play for current Dutch manager Ronald Koeman again
It comes after Koeman “closed the book” on Bergwijn’s international career as he criticised the former Tottenham star for showing a lack of “sporting ambition” by moving to Saudi Arabia.
Bergwijn was furious with Koeman for not speaking to the winger about his decision to leave
He said: ‘I don’t even want to play for this manager anymore. I won’t play for someone who portrays me the way he has in the media.
“He could have called me to hear my side of the story. How can he say things like that without talking to me?”
Bergwijn has made 35 appearances for the Dutch national team and was part of Koeman’s squad at Euro 2024, where they reached the semi-finals before losing to England.
And, speaking to the media on Tuesday after his group met, Koeman hit out at Bergwijn when asked about the winger, claiming the move to Saudi Arabia has significantly impacted his international ambitions.
“Steven Bergwijn is leaving for Saudi Arabia at the age of 26,” he said. “It is clear that it has nothing to do with sporting ambition.
‘His book with the Dutch national team is closed.’
Koeman was then asked if Bergwijn had discussed the move with him, before adding: “No, he probably knows what I would have said.”
The coach also said the case was different to that of Georginio Wijnaldum, who was still selected after leaving Paris Saint-Germain to join Al-Ettifaq last year.
Bergwijn (right) said “this is not how you treat players” in response to Koeman’s comments
He said: ‘Georginio Wijnaldum once went down that path because he had a problem at Paris Saint-Germain.
‘He was only able to go to that country to play football until January. In the case of Bergwijn, who is leaving at the age of 26, sporting ambition is not the priority.’
Bergwijn played 60 times for Tottenham between 2020 and 2022 before joining Ajax.
At Al-Ittihad he will play alongside players such as N’Golo Kanté, Fabinho and Karim Benzema.
