The 31-year-old used to be referred to as Georginio Boateng in the early stages of his career before officially changing his surname.
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Georginio Wijnaldum: Why I dropped my Ghanaian surname ‘Boateng’
Netherlands international Georginio Wijnaldum has explained why he decided to drop his Ghanaian surname.
Georginio Wijnaldum: Why I dropped my Ghanaian surname ‘Boateng’
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However, the PSG midfielder has his reasons for switching surnames after putting his mother’s surname on his records.
Paris Saint Germain midfielder, Gini Wijnaldum is reportedly unhappy in Paris.
IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
According to him, he inherited the name ‘Boateng’ from his stepfather but decided to change it after he divorced his mother.
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“I want to put on record that I am now Georginio Wijnaldum, not Georginio Boateng, in fact I have been known as George Wijnaldum for four years now,” the Dutchman said in a 2013 interview, as quoted by Goal.
“Boateng was the name of my former stepfather who is related to retired Dutch footballer of Ghanaian-origin George Boateng.”
Giorginio Wijnaldum
Pulse Ghana
He added: “My stepfather gave his surname to me but after he divorced my mother I got the Boateng off my name and took my mother’s name Wijnaldum as my surname.”
“My mother and my original father are Surinamese so people should get it clear.”
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Wijnaldum is a Premier League, Ligue 1 and Champions League winner and has also been capped 86 times by the Netherlands.
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