After a stellar career on Merseyside, Gini Wijnaldum has moved on to pastures new, even if nothing is official at this point.
Liverpool have said their goodbyes to the player who will be fondly remembered for his brace to put the Reds right back in their semi-final against Barcelona in 2019, amongst other performances.
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Not a fortnight after the end of the 2020/21 season, the Netherlands played Scotland in a friendly.
Wijnaldum captained the Dutch team, whilst former club team-mate, Andy Robertson, had the armband for the Scots.
The pre-match smiles and pleasantries were to be expected, but perhaps not the bizarre initial exchange.
“I want to hug you,” Wijnaldum is quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror.
“I know. But we can’t,” was Robertson’s considered response.
Suffice to say that a hug was the last thing on either’s mind once the match got going, an entertaining 90 minutes which ended all square, 2-2.
On balance it was a fair result, but gave no clue to how either side will fare in the European Championship.