René van der Gijp voiced his disappointment at Tijjani Reijnders no longer playing in a top European league on Monday's KieftJansenEgmondGijp. He wishes the 39-cap Netherlands international hadn't chosen Al-Qadisya last summer.
A few months ago, ambitious Al-Qadisya paid around €60 million to sign the midfielder from Manchester City. Reijnders signed a four-year contract with the club.
Reijnders has made a fairly strong start at Al-Qadisya, scoring nine goals and providing three assists in 14 appearances. Last week, the 28-year-old Dutchman scored a hat-trick against Al-Riyadh in a 0-6 win.
"When you watch AC Milan - Inter and see the atmosphere. And then you see Tijjani Reijnders playing in empty stadiums," says Van der Gijp, who thinks it is an eternal shame that the midfielder swapped Manchester City for the Saudi Pro League.
"And you can celebrate, but nobody celebrates with you," the pundit continues cynically. "Because the people who are there are, I think, people who work there. They get a free ticket; they're people from Vietnam and all those sorts of countries. That's sad."
Presenter Michel van Egmond adds: "They always have the idea that they'll fill the coffers and then return to Europe. But I wonder whether that's possible."
At Manchester City last season, Reijnders made a good start. Pep Guardiola almost always started him, although the midfielder found himself on the bench increasingly often as his time in England went on.