Gini Wijnaldum claim he ‘didn’t feel loved’ at the end of his Liverpool career.
Wijnaldum brought down the curtain on a five-year spell at Anfield this summer by joining Paris Saint-Germain when his existing contract expired.
The Holland international vowed at the end of his final season with the Reds to tell ‘the rest of the story’ about the reasons behind his shock departure.
Wijnaldum, 30, has now explained part of why relations soured on Merseyside despite still enjoying a good rapport with Jurgen Klopp and his teammates.
“There was a moment I didn’t feel loved and appreciated,” said the midfielder.
“Not [by] my team-mates, not the people at Melwood. From them I know, I can say they all love me and I love them.
“It was not from that side, more the other side.”
He added: “I have to say also there was social media.
“When it went bad, I was the player who they blamed – that I wanted to leave. Every day in training and in the games, I gave everything.
“I had to bring it to a good end because, during the years, Liverpool meant so much to me and because of the way the fans in the stadium were treating me.
“My feeling was that the fans in the stadium and the fans on social media were two different kinds. The fans in the stadium always supported me.
“Even when they came back [after lockdown], already knowing that I was going to leave, they still supported me and, in the end, they gave me a great farewell.
“On social media, if we lost, I was the one who got the blame.
“There was a moment when I was like: ‘Wow. If they only knew what I was doing to stay fit and play every game.’
“Other players might have said: ‘OK, I am not fit.’ You get players in their last year who are like: ‘I’m not playing because it is a risk.’ I did the opposite.
“I didn’t always play good but, after the game, I could look in the mirror and say: ‘I gave it all. I trained hard to get better.’
“Even with the physios … I took the most possible treatment I could get.
“I cannot remember when I had a day off because I played so many games and basically it was too much for the body but I did everything to stay fit.”