24 Jul 2021 19:35:06
Anyone Seen gini's interview, blaming fans for his decision to leave ABSOLUTE JOKE!
it's like he's just become a footballer and found social media. There's way more than a few fans saying he isn't working hard enough, thanks for memories but see ya.

{Ed002's Note - I have explained before that players are impacted by social media and fans abusing them.}

1.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 19:50:13
I don't blame the guy, we demand players are loyal but they get so much abuse on social media if they fall short of perfect, you can't expect people to just ignore it.

2.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 20:18:56
You only have to look at some posters on this site to see how much Liverpool fans think it’s ok to abuse players.

3.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 20:23:51
I've seen the abuse Gini received on Twitter, mainly from our newer 'fans' from what I could tell TBH. Disgusting most of it.

4.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 20:52:55
So what he receives abuse how many other players in England alone receive pure abuse from there own fans and racial abuse at that .
I have backed him from day dot even when he has been accused of drifting through games very important cog in the machine, but what message does that send out to incoming players to our great club, its a bitchy comment from him and the money he has picked up through our fans supporting the team should be enough to show respect .

5.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:02:52
So he left because of our fans to a club where their fans wait for the players after the game to abuse them. Every team has some toxic fans that abuse their players after a bad game, thinking he can go to a big club that doesn’t have these types of fans is a bit naive.

6.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:05:07
I do not condone vile abuse from fans, however he has to accept constructive criticism. I was never his biggest fan as a player, but he seems like a nice enough guy. The majority of fans seemed to wish him well, so his response is narrow minded.

{Ed0666's Note - how are they narrow minded if he feels persecuted?

7.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:05:28
I wish gini had just not said anything at all. You moved on just leave it at that.

{Ed0666's Note - He didn’t bash the club or the whole fan base just some of them. Let’s face it he was massively criticized for his performances in the last few months of his employment at LFC (me included) and he makes a salient point about players going AWOL in the final year of their contract. he could have easily feigned injury and not helped out the team in a moment of adversity. Wether he was helping was a matter of opinion 😂

8.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:16:37
100% Thunderbird.

9.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:18:15
Interesting to observe the number of posts that hint at Gini's rationale for leaving (in part) being an excuse and go on to suggest all teams have fans like this or this comes with the territory of social media.
Is that point of view also not excusing abuse on social media? Calling out abuse on social media is not an east thing to do and, rather than point the finger back on Gini, we should look at ourselves and question why we act in such a backwards fashion towards anyone, let alone someone who plays for the football team we support.
Those who abuse on social media are cretins and, in my opinion, those who are indirectly excusing that behaviour, rather than condemning it, are equally as bad.
Yes, money is a big factor but, no one other than Gini knows how big a factor social media abuse was on his decision to leave and we should accept his rationale and reflect on how we, as supporters, treat our players in future.

10.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:23:13
So why was he listening to what fans think and not concentrating on his game an wat the people who matter think . For me its unprofessional and very surprising, for once not the owners fault?

{Ed0666's Note - because going on the internet is quite the norm in 2021 . People have committed suicide from internet bullying and suffer severe depression from online criticism. Let’s be honest the guys right every time liverpool lost he got slaughtered on here. I thought the guy was brilliant for us apart from his last season and I hold my hand up and say I criticized him in the latter part of his tenure with us and he absolutely has the right to slag me and anyone else of if he feels wronged. A right to reply is his prerogative fab

11.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 21:59:51
If he is unhappy because he was called out for his shocking performances last season then I have little sympathy - you’re a seasoned pro being paid a fortune to play football, there are people out there right now using food banks, out of work, mourning loved ones lost to C.V., take a look at the real world, realize how fortunate you are, and deal with it. Being personally insulted and abused is acceptable in any way but opinions on performance are part and parcel of the game, I think given the ever increasing costs of being a fan it is something we, as fans, are entitled to do.

Is Gini saying this is a reason to hide the fact he was after more money and conveniently ended up at a PSG? Every fan base has horrid elements, I don’t think this is something unique to Liverpool.

{Ed0666's Note - you try turning up for work every day on time, never taking any sickies and when you’re department performs poorly you getting the blame. Come on guys he has the right to reply regardless of the amount of money he’s making that’s immaterial

12.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 22:11:47
I'm glad Gini called the abusers out. It's ridiculous for people to abuse players. They have no idea what the players go through on a daily basis. All of them are professionals and work hard each and every day. For fans to sit back in their recliners and critisize what they don't know is embarassing, in my opinion. Every player wants to be at their best. They are human and can't be 100% every match.

{Ed0666's Note - it’s not ridiculous for punters to call out players we pay their wages and have that right and it’s ok for players to give it back. Some players don’t give 100% and are just there for the pay check. Naby case in point it seems.

13.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 22:24:26
You do know having a sh#t load of money or being a famous footballer doesn't make you immune from the same mental issues that "normal" have? Some of the responses are beyond idiotic.

14.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 22:25:41
He was far from my favourite player, but I give him massive credit for playing through pain and injury.

15.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 22:58:44
I’m not saying it is right but this is very much part of life. You going to get critics, however he wants to paint it I’m never going to believe if it wasn’t for some kids on social media or bot accounts that he’d of signed on with LFC who where offering a considerable amount less a week than PSG.

I’m not blaming him I think anyone of us would take the offer but to turn it into some accounts on social media with avatars that aren’t even real people is just a bit meh.

16.) 24 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 23:21:46
Fans have the right to criticize poor performance, and players have the right to give their opinion on that criticism. If a stranger told me I was $h! t at my job and I was letting people down, I certainly wouldn't sit there and say "ok boss, yer right, let me have it".

I think some people are reacting negatively because they don't want (one of) the reasons he left to be because of things they themselves may have said.

{Ed0666's Note - true dat cuz

17.) 25 Jul 2021
24 Jul 2021 23:57:23
Ed0666, if Naby spent as much effort playing and working hard as he does chasing skirt he might get somewhere.

{Ed0666's Note - To be fair there’s some decent fraulien’s in Liverpool…can’t blame the fella! If he spent as much as much time chasing opposition midfielders as he does skirt we’d have a player on our hands

18.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 00:28:11
I think everyone knows and can see from what happened this summer that the abuse Gini likely got (certainly on twatter etx) was likely racist and not simply constructive criticism. To try and explain it away by the majority of posters just goes to show how bad it is.

19.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 01:11:47
If he could pass a bit of fanny as well as he’s alleged to be able to pass a ball he might be a player Ed.

{Ed0666's Note - as long as he starts scoring on the pitch aswell mate

20.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 01:22:58
Two things for me.

Crass generalisations along the lines of “I’m not a (insert your own ‘ist’j but this happens everywhere / all the time / to everybody” doesn’t make it acceptable or in any way whatsoever right.

Really dumb statements like “They should ignore it / They don’t have to read it” are ironic in the extreme as they are usually accompanied by people who start off by saying ‘Everybody has a right to express their opinion.

People not only should call out bullying of any kind - rather we all MUST call it out - if we all do nothing it will never change.

21.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 03:28:30
Dont twist his words. He said social media fans. He spoke highly about fans in the stadium. The manager. Team mates. Its easy to say otherwise, but the negatives from the minority do give huge negative impact to people.

22.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 04:20:53
Gini won't be criticized in paris? Let them loose their first game and see him wade Parisian ultras online. Likes of laurien jules and other pundits will raid into him too.

Let's be honest, He wasnt giving his 100 percent in final year. Every fan praised his fitness and criticism was for his commitment. He wasnt the only reason for our misfortune last season but you couldn't accuse others of not trying. Gini was just on the pitch as a body. It seemed very obvious he was in his last season.
Ultimately fans have nothing to do with it. He cannot forget the love and compliments he got when he won us the champions league. He cannot forget the love he got when he won us the league. So he has to be ready for the tough love when he throws his team under the bus by being non existent for 70 percent of the season. He was our senior most player and he didn't show it. There would have folklores and talks of statues being built had he just grabbed our team by the scruff and just dragged us on his shoulders. He didnt. He went AWOL because he didn't have his contract. He was the senior player yet it was young players like philips and williams whose heroic efforts that pushed us.
If he wanted it could have been his best season but he just preferred to sulk.
So he can have his thoughts and put them up his backside. We can be a vile bunch i get it and it can get over the top on here, but it can't be argued he didn't help his case either.

23.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 06:08:30
I was supposed to say that being personally abused is unacceptable, not acceptable. I don’t think fans should ever get personal, but I do think criticisms of performance are something players need to get used to, it is football. Every fan base has fans who tarnish the club, Gini insinuating that Liverpool fans are worse than others, when he wanted more money and chose mercenary fc, seems disingenuous to me.

Money doesn’t make everything better, but there are a lot of people going through some incredibly difficult times right now, a little bit of introspection would go a long way.

Somebody criticizing me for my job is a little different because I’m a standard worker on a standard salary, I’m not paid enough to deal with that extra hassle nor is it a known part of my profession. However, give me Gini’s wages, and I’ll swallow any criticism that comes my way gladly. If he was personally abused then of course that is wrong, but criticism of performance is a ridiculous reason to have a go at fans. If it bothers him so much get off of social media? Is it a requirement to have a publicly available Twitter/ Instagram etc? Or is the extra money from sponsored posts too good to turn down?

24.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 06:11:56
Also to those saying he was targeted with racist posts/ he was bullied do you have any evidence of this? I’m not saying he was or wasn’t, I do not know, and certainly the anonymity of social media has emboldened the cretins who engage in such activity, but it seems to be quite a jump from ‘criticism of performance/ blame for team form’ to ‘racial abuse/ online bullying’.

25.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 06:49:41
Unfortunately abuse is the worse thing about social media.
Gini has a right to speak out about it but to say he left because of it, doesn't ring true. We all know it was about money, and to be fair if another club values him more, he has every right to secure what's best for him.
A lot of players in the last yr of their contracts do feign injury, and some might say I would rather them sit it out, than not try 100% in fear of getting injured.
Yes he was going missing in games, but Newcastle fans said he would do that for them.
I liked Gini as a player and he has a right to stick up for himself. And let's not forget It was Klopp who played him when he wasn't performing so he was as much to blame for the results.
I say good luck Gini and thanks for the memories.

26.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 06:57:37
Online bullying is one of the most ridiculous things I find about progression. I'm old school, of u have a gripe then tell me and we sort it. But the online stuff goes on and on until some1 says something the other doesn't like. It's daft really.

27.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 07:13:14
This is what it’s claimed he said. Really cannot work out why people are getting so worked up over it to be honest. It’s as if fans are allowed a say but players aren’t.

“Well, yeah, there was a moment I didn’t feel loved and appreciated. Not 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. There was a moment that I didn’t feel appreciated and loved and I have to say also there was social media. ”

“When it went bad I was the player who they blamed – [saying] that I wanted to leave. Every day in training and in the game I gave everything I had. During the years Liverpool meant so much to me and also the [positive] way the fans in the stadium were treating me. The fans in the stadium and the fans on social media – my feeling was that they were two different things. ”.

28.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 07:21:41
If Gini was the recipient of racial abuse online that is a different matter altogether. Beyond that, however, if Gini is seriously affected by what idiots write on social media, to the point that it influences his career decision-making, log out, deactivate and enjoy your fantastic life and opportunities without it. Beyond thanking the fans for their support, which you can do through many channels, you owe nothing to anyone and nobody has the right to force you to use social media - it really is your choice.
Having said the above, I don’t believe for a moment that abuse from certain fans, unpleasant as it is, had anything to do with Wijnaldum leaving Liverpool. The fact he ended up signing for PSG of all clubs, on nearly 200k a week, should tell us why he really left.

29.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 08:15:37
JK23, agreed I read the interview just then and I think people are over reacting.

He praises the fans in the stadium, but criticizes fans on social media. Defending anyone on social media who spews criticism at someone for doing their job is demoralising, no matter how much money you earn. Money does not make you any less human or immune to criticism. Anyone who says they would take the criticism/ abuse for the money he is paid, needs to be a bit more honest with themselves. You only need to look at the amount of people who are killing themselves over the non-stop ridiculous abuse on social media.

30.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 09:58:43
“Every day in training and in the game I gave everything I had. ”
If that statement is true then it’s a good job he’s gone.

31.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 10:25:38
Im sure he can wipe the tears away with his 1000 euro notes.

32.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 10:34:01
If anyone on here thinks that less of Gini for this response and wants to have a pop at him for it, you are part of the reason he says he left.
There are supporters and there are glory seekers.
The only way they will ever stop the abuse on social media is to shut it down unfortunately.
Human nature being what it is, a club this size will always attract more than its fair share of turds who just can't stop themselves.
It seems to have become the new "Liverpool Way" - win every game handsomely or receive abuse.
Not many understand the concept of genuinely supporting your club any more.

33.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 12:37:16
Spot on, IR. LeBron James is one of the most wealthy athletes in the world YET that did not stop his New York City home from being vandalised with racist graffiti. Also, I find it rich when people are telling Gini to suck it up and take the abuse like a man just cos he makes a tonne of money and telling him to delete his account.

It is such nonsense that has allowed online bullying to fester as long as it has. Instead of addressing the despicable acts of online bullying (which has sent a tonne of people to their deaths via suicides), they want to shame the victim into leaving the public space itself rather than help clean it up for all of us. Abject cowardice, IMO.

34.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 13:53:21
Seano you can’t argue that he can’t or shouldn’t be upset about online abuse because he has what you perceive to be a very comfortable life. There are people in the world who have it far worse than even the poorest in the UK, doesn’t mean they can’t be upset or frustrated about their situation.
People’s problems are their own and it’s naive to suggest he should accept people hurling abuse at him (almost certainly racial abuse too), just because he has a few extra zero’s in his bank account.

35.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 15:51:45
@Shrewsbury Red - first of all racist abuse has not been mentioned by Gini or proven by anyone, this is idle speculation and not what Gini said in his statement. I’ve already said personal abuse is wrong. Criticism of performances, however, is part of being a footballer. He can choose not to engage with social media if it affects him so negatively, nobody has a gun to his head.

The reason his lifestyle is a factor, and I think the reason why fans are unhappy with what he has said, is because it was clear he wanted more money, and not getting as much as he wanted was why he left. He has then changed the narrative to something akin to ‘fans abuse pushed me out’ - that seems like a pretty big stretch.

36.) 25 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 16:03:38
Or the club wouldn’t give him the length of contract he wanted? Or felt his time at the club was coming to an end and wanted a new challenge, at one of the biggest clubs in the world no less. It isn’t in any way “clear” that he wanted more money because you have no idea what his motivations are. If it is for more money then fair play, he’s approaching the end of his career and he has earned every right to move on for bigger money. His reputation as a very likeable guy makes me doubt that anyway.

As for the racist abuse I know that’s not what has been said, but by victim blaming you’re supporting the notion that these players are performing robots and not real people. Like it or not social media is a big part of these men’s sport and social image as well as that of the club. Instead of telling to them to log off when they get abused why not blame those attacking them. Why should he have to stop using social media? You’re focusing on the wrong issue.

As far as football criticism that’s fair enough to a point, but we all know it goes far overboard when we lose (rarely), and it simply doesn’t have to be as aggressive and critical as it is on here far too often.

37.) 26 Jul 2021
25 Jul 2021 16:14:58
Try being an Arsenal player if you don’t like criticism they slaughter their players week in week out or a player from one of those clubs that racially abuse their own players. Most Liverpool fans know Gini was a vital cog in an engine that conquered the world and to be honest he should consider himself privileged to have been a part of such success and countless memories he should keep forever and look upon with pride. If I am honest the questions he is asked are directed so he will have a little moan about why he left I wouldn’t read to much into it.