Steven Bergwijn hits back at Ronald Koeman after being dropped from the Netherlands squad by the coach, who questioned his “sporting ambition” following his move to Saudi Arabia

Former Tottenham star Steven Bergwijn has hit back after Ronald Koeman's international career came to an end.

Bergwijn, 26, joined Saudi professional league giants Al-Ittihad from Ajax on Monday for €21 million (£17.7 million).

Due to speculation about his future, the winger was not selected for the Netherlands' upcoming Nations League matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany.

In his press conference, Koeman sharply criticized Bergwijn’s transfer and said it showed a lack of “sporting ambition.”

In comments published in Dutch media De Telegraaf, a frustrated Bergwijn hit back, stressing that “you don’t treat your players like that.”

This came after Koeman ended Bergwijn's international career by accusing the former Tottenham star of showing a lack of “sporting ambition” by moving to Saudi Arabia.

Bergwijn was angry with Koeman for not speaking to the winger about his decision to move

He said: “I don't even want to play for that coach anymore. I will not play for someone who portrays me the way he did in the media.”

“He could have called me and heard my side of the story. How can he say something like that without talking to me?”

Bergwijn has 35 caps for the Netherlands 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 assembling his group, Koeman attacked Bergwijn when asked about the winger, claiming the move to Saudi Arabia had significantly impacted his international ambitions.

“Steven Bergwijn is going to Saudi Arabia at the age of 26,” he said. “It is clear that this has nothing to do with sporting ambition.”

“His relationship with the Dutch national team is over.”

Koeman was then asked if Bergwijn had discussed the move with him before adding: “No, he probably knows what I would have said.”

The manager also said that the case is different from that of Georginio Wijnaldum, who was still selected after leaving Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Ettifaq last year.

Bergwijn (right) said in response to Koeman's comments: “That's not how you treat players”

He said: “Georginio Wijnaldum once went this way because he had a problem at Paris Saint-Germain.

“He could only go to this country until January to play football there. In Bergwijn's case, he is leaving at the age of 26; his sporting ambition does not prevail.”

Bergwijn played 60 times for Tottenham between 2020 and 2022 before moving to Ajax.

At Al-Ittihad, he will play alongside players like N'Golo Kante, Fabinho and Karim Benzema.