Once it became apparent that the Netherlands international was bringing his five-year stay at Liverpool to an end this summer, he was linked with a reunion with his former national team manager Ronald Koeman at the Camp Nou.
But PSG stepped in to snap the former Newcastle United midfielder on a three-year contract as Barcelona dilly-dallied in firming up their offer.
“It was a difficult choice. We negotiated with Barcelona for four weeks, but we did not reach an agreement," Wijnaldum said at a press conference.
"PSG were just quicker and their project spoke to me more. To be honest, I thought I was joining Barcelona because at the beginning they were the only interested club.
"PSG and Barcelona are both truly great clubs, and both are clubs where I would have liked to play. I wanted to make my decision before the start of the Euros and in the end I chose PSG.”
The 30-year-old spent five seasons at Anfield, having joined from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016 and won one Premier League title, one UEFA Champions League trophy, one FIFA Club World Cup and one UEFA Super Cup during his time at the club.
Wijnaldum will captain the Netherlands at EURO 2020 in the absence of Virgil Van Dijk, who is recovering from a knee injury.
