BIO

Georginio Wijnaldum was born on 11 November 1990 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, holding Dutch nationality and playing as a midfielder for Al-Ettifaq. At club level, he won the KNVB Cup in 2008 with Feyenoord, the KNVB Cup in 2012, Johan Cruyff Shield in 2012, and Eredivisie in 2015 with PSV, the UEFA Champions League in 2019, UEFA Super Cup in 2019, FIFA Club World Cup in 2019, and Premier League in 2020 with Liverpool, and Ligue 1 in 2022 and Trophée des Champions in 2022 with Paris Saint-Germain. Individually, he was named Dutch Footballer of the Year in 2015. Internationally, he earned 96 caps and scored 28 goals for the Netherlands national team, appearing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Achievements

1 Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 1 FIFA Club World Cup, 2 domestic leagues (1 Netherlands, 1 France), 2 domestic cups (2 Netherlands), 2 domestic super cups (1 Netherlands, 1 France)

Performance and Ballon d'Or Criteria

• Press Resistance and Ball Retention: Displays exceptional physical strength and technical control under intense opponent pressure, consistently maintaining possession in tight central spaces. • Tactical Intelligence: Operates effectively as a versatile box-to-box midfielder, executing intelligent off-the-ball runs into the penalty box to support fluid transition attacks.

Efficiency Statistics

• Pass Completion Rate: Recorded a pass completion rate of 82.15% across 33 matches played in the Professional League. • Offensiveness & Finishing: Registered 16 goals from 77 shots with an expected goals (xG) output of 14.94 in 2,900 season minutes played for Al-Ettifaq.