Manchester City reject Tijjani Reijnders has admitted that he moved to Saudi Arabia for the vast financial benefits.
The 28-year-old midfielder left Man City over the summer for the relatively unknown Saudi outfit Al-Qadsiah in a £52million deal.
He spent just a season at the Etihad and, despite a hugely impressive debut after joining them from AC Milan for £46.5m, he struggled to make a consistent impact across his 50 appearances.
Reijnders is on a five-year contract with Al-Qadsiah, who are managed by Brendan Rodgers, and is reportedly set to earn around £86million over the half-decade.
Now a month into his time there, he said: ‘Once my playing career is over, I don’t want to have to work anymore.
‘Of course, I probably wouldn’t have needed to work anymore after my contract at Manchester City either, but this move allows me to secure the future of the next generations of my family.
Former Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has admitted he moved to Saudi Arabia for the money
He says he wants to secure generational wealth, thinking ahead to his future grandchildren
‘I’m not going to lie about that. By signing this contract, I can make sure even my grandchildren are financially secure, so why wouldn’t I do it?’
He currently has one son, Xavien, with his wife Marina. Speaking about what attracted him to the club in August, Reijnders was not so quick to mention cash.
He said at the time: ‘Especially the ambition of the club (is what attracted me).
‘The club wants to be the biggest in Asia and what they did already in the past and what we can do now in the future, it triggered me a lot.
‘And, yeah, I want to help the club to bring it to the highest level.
‘I came here to try and win trophies with my teammates – we’re playing for four trophies, if I’m right.
‘We want to win as many as possible and we are all very eager to do that. And, personally, I hope I can help the team as much as possible with goals and assists.’
The Netherlands international has scored three goals in five Saudi Pro League outings for Al-Qadsiah, who also feature in the AFC Champions League.
They are currently fourth in the Saudi Pro League, where they have finished for the last two seasons.
The club is owned by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas firm.
They do not have as many big names as some of their Middle Eastern counterparts but do have some respected faces from around Europe, such as former Spain and Italy defender Nacho Fernandez and Italy striker Mario Retegui.
Reijnders played three matches for the Netherlands at the World Cup.
