Dutch international midfielder, Giorginio Wijnaldum has explained how he got Ghanaian name 'Boateng' as his surname but stated he hasn't been using it for the past four years and gave his reasons.
The 31 year old has been playing active football since 2007 but came into the limelight after staring for the Holland national team in the 2014 World Cup where he made a sensational transfer from PSV Eindhoven to English giants Liverpool FC after the tournament.
His stay at Liverpool actually was really a memorable one and undoubtedly the best spell he's had in his career having played an integral role in Jurgen Klopp's side that won the UEFA Champions League in 2019 and Premier League in 2020.
Speaking in an interview, the stalwart midfielder revealed he has no decent with the West African nation but had 'Boateng' included to his name at some point because he had a Ghanaian step father and ditched the name after he divorced his mother. He said;
"I want to put on record that I am now Georginio Wijnaldum, not Georginio Boateng, in fact, I have been known as George Wijnaldum for four years now,” he stated as quoted by GOAL.
“Boateng was the name of my former stepfather who is related to retired Dutch footballer of Ghanaian origin George Boateng. My stepfather gave his surname to me but after he divorced my mother I got the Boateng off my name and took my mother’s name Wijnaldum as my surname.”
Giorginio Wijnaldum, 31, just recently won the French Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain having made over 30 appearances for them in all competitions with a goal and three assists.
By: Iddriss Abdul Rahim
