Tijjani Reijnders is not asking anyone to feel good about his move to Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with Dutch broadcaster NOS reported this week by Goal, the Netherlands midfielder set out the calculation that took him from Manchester City to Al-Qadsiah in blunt terms, and did nothing to soften the answer when it was put to him that he sounded like a man chasing a paycheque.
“The salary being offered there, let any player or any person try to turn it down.. we can all pretend to be highly principled and say: ‘I would not do that’, but I think most people would say ‘yes’ for that amount,” he said.
Asked whether that made him a money grabber, Reijnders did not push back.
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“No, but you can’t deny that either.”
He was equally direct about the reasoning.
“Money definitely plays a part in it. After my football career ends, I don’t want to work again.”
“I won’t lie about it, if my grandchildren can live off this, then why shouldn’t I?”
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City exit was months in the making
Reijnders joined Al-Qadsiah on 19 August for a reported £52m, a year after Manchester City had bought him from AC Milan. He signed a five-year contract in Saudi Arabia, with reports putting the total value of the deal above €100m.
His single season in England was short and busy without ever quite convincing. He made 50 appearances in all competitions and scored seven times before club and player agreed to part.
The doubt, he said, had been building for some time.
“In the end, I started to think: do I want to stay another season at Man City without being completely happy, or do I choose to take on a new adventure?”
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Other clubs had circled, according to Reijnders, but never got as far as an agreement.
“There were other options, but they did not come through or they stalled over the asking price.”
Xavi keeps him in the Netherlands plans
The Saudi Pro League has pulled in a steady stream of players in their prime over the past three seasons. Reijnders wanted to push back on the idea that a move east now equals a career ended.
“I think many people believe that a player’s career ends by moving to Saudi Arabia, but that’s not true.”
He is at least right about the international consequences. Reijnders was named in Xavi’s first Netherlands squad on 18 September as one of the midfielders picked for the Nations League window. That is a break from the previous regime under Ronald Koeman, who would not select Saudi-based players; the new head coach has said the league does not enter into his thinking.
“If the players are performing well there, they will undoubtedly be selected,” Xavi said. “We look at the quality of the player, not the quality of the team or the competition.”
Xavi replaced Koeman in August on a contract that runs to the end of the 2030 World Cup. The Netherlands open his Nations League campaign at home to Germany on Thursday, with Reijnders in the squad.
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