I have to be honest: in my career, I've really had to fight to come in the middle again. A lot of managers told me, 'You are way more comfortable as a winger than as a midfielder,' but I always kept my trust and confidence in what I knew about my qualities.

At seven, I played centre-back. When you're so young, though, it's more to enjoy the training and to get a feel for the game. It's not heavy on tactics of a position. We were playing on a half pitch, seven against seven or eight against eight, so they say you're a centre-back, but it's not like the real definition.

Because I was fast, technical, and could dribble well, it was always the easy thing to label me just a winger and have me stick to that.

Georginio Wijnaldum Quotes