In April 2003, he made his Netherlands international debut in a friendly match against Portugal at age 19.

Robben proved to be a crucial player for the 2004–05 season; in November 2004, he was awarded the Premier League Player of the Month award. Robben ended the 2004–05 season with seven goals, his second highest professional total. He was shortlisted for the PFA Young Player of the Year, but was beaten by Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. Robben was badly injured in a Premier League match away to Blackburn Rovers and forced to sit out the 2005 Football League Cup Final, Chelsea’s title run-in and progress to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Back to fitness for 2005–06, Robben was an integral part of the Chelsea left wing. In 28 matches, Robben contributed six goals as Chelsea won a second consecutive Premier League championship, the first back-to-back titles for the west London club.

Robben was later named man of the match on 23 December 2006 against Wigan Athletic, a match where he got two assists and the winning goal.

Robben played in his first 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier in 2006. In six games for the Netherlands, Robben scored two goals. The Netherlands qualified for the 2006 World Cup and in their opening match against Serbia and Montenegro, Robben scored the winning goal in the 18th minute, and was named the Player of the match. In the match against the Ivory Coast, Robben received this award the second time, thus becoming one of the eight players in the tournament to have won multiple Man of the Match awards.

Robben was inflicted with yet another injury in a match against Liverpool on 20 January 2007. Robben made his return in a 3–0 victory against Middlesbrough in February, driving in a shot that took a deflection past Mark Schwarzer for an own goal by Abel Xavier. He came on as a substitute for Claude Makélélé in the 2007 League Cup final against Arsenal and set up the winning goal for Didier Drogba. Robben scored a goal in the second round of the Champions League against Porto, which led to Chelsea winning the tie 3–2 on aggregate. At the end of March 2007, Robben underwent a knee operation after sustaining a knee injury upon returning from international duty that was expected to rule him out for at least four weeks. He only made two further appearances for Chelsea, both of which were as a substitute and both of which would prove to be key games for the club. His first appearance since returning from injury was against Liverpool in the Champions League semi-final second leg which went to penalties. Robben went on to have his penalty saved by Pepe Reina, and Chelsea ultimately lost.

Robben’s final appearance for the club came against Manchester United in the 2007 FA Cup Final. Robben replaced Joe Cole at half-time, but was then substituted himself for Ashley Cole in extra time as Chelsea emerged victorious. Spanish club Real Madrid were interested in two of Chelsea’s players. Then manager Bernd Schuster is said to have demanded Michael Ballack, while Real Madrid’s then president Ramón Calderón was known to favour Robben. Robben said to reporters of Spanish newspaper AS, “I do not know when a deal will be reached. I would like to send a message to the Madrid fans, but I can’t until my future is sorted.”

Real Madrid eventually secured Robben’s services in August 2007. He told Chelsea’s official club website:

Robben completed his move to Real Madrid on a five-year deal on 22 August 2007, with the transfer fee reported as £24 million (€35 million). He made his debut on 18 September as a substitute for Raúl during a Champions League match against Werder Bremen, which Real Madrid won 2–1. His La Liga debut came on 23 September, as a substitute for Royston Drenthe in a 1–1 away draw against Real Valladolid. On 10 February 2008, Robben scored his first goal, coming at home in a 7–0 victory against Valladolid. Robben proved crucial for many Real Madrid matches, making his famous runs down the left wing and quickly became a first choice for the left midfield position, making 28 appearances during his debut season and scoring five goals. Real Madrid won the Liga title with multiple games to spare, and were already the champions of Spain when they played their arch-rivals Barcelona on 7 May 2008. The Barcelona players formed a guard of honour as the Madrid team came onto the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, and Robben played an important part in Real Madrid’s subsequent 4–1 victory, scoring the champions’ second goal.

Robben married his girlfriend Bernadien Eillert on 9 June 2007 in Groningen. The two met while in high school in the city, at the Kamerlingh Onnes, and have two sons, Luka (born 2008) and Kai (born 2012) and a daughter, Lynn (born 2010). Robben’s father, Hans, works as his agent.

During Euro 2008, new Dutch manager Marco van Basten changed the side’s formation to 4–2–3–1, preferring the midfield trio of Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt, with Robben left to battle for a position with Robin van Persie on the wing. In the group match against France, which the Netherlands won 4–1, Robben was brought on at half-time. He dragged the ball out of reach of a defender near the half-way line and paced his way ahead of three defenders, then crossed straight to Van Persie, who powered a shot into the goal past France goalkeeper Grégory Coupet. At 2–0, Thierry Henry scored a goal for France, making it 2–1, but almost directly after the restart, Robben was played through by Sneijder and he ran at the France goal and was forced into an acute angle, but despite the angle, he shot the ball into the net past Coupet.

On 28 August 2009, Robben moved to Bayern Munich for around €25 million. He was given the number 10 jersey, last worn by his fellow Dutchman, Roy Makaay. On 9 March 2010, Robben scored the deciding goal in Bayern’s 2–3 defeat (4–4 on aggregate over two legs) against Fiorentina, taking them through to the quarter-finals of the 2009–10 Champions League on away goals.

On 7 April 2010, Robben sent Bayern into the semi-finals of the Champions League with a stunning volley against Manchester United from the edge of the area into the corner of the net. The game ended 3–2 to United (4–4 on aggregate), with Bayern advancing again due to away goals.

On 17 April 2010, he scored his first hat-trick in the Bundesliga against Hannover 96 in the Allianz Arena. The game ended 7–0 to the Bavarians. On 8 May 2010, he won his first Bundesliga title with Bayern after scoring two goals in their 3–1 victory over Hertha BSC, finishing as Bayern’s top scorer in the process.

A week later, Bayern played in the DFB-Pokal final against the previous champions of the tournament, Werder Bremen, in Berlin’s Olympiastadion. Bayern won the game 4–0, with Robben scoring the first of his team’s goals from a penalty kick. Robben thus helped the Bavarians achieve their 15th DFB-Pokal title. On 25 May 2010, Robben was named Footballer of the Year in Germany for 2010. He was the fourth foreigner and the first Dutchman to win the title. He finished the 2009–10 season with 23 goals in 37 appearances.

On 28 June 2010, Robben started his first match against Slovakia in which he went on to score the first goal in the second round as the Netherlands won 2–1. He also won the man of the match award. Robben scored the third goal with a well-placed header in the semi-finals against Uruguay which the Netherlands won 3–2 to reach the final. Robben played for the full match in the final as the Netherlands lost 1–0 to Spain. Robben had Netherlands’s best opportunity of the match when played in on goal by Wesley Sneijder in the 62nd minute of the match, but was denied by Iker Casillas. Robben was nominated for the 2010 World Cup Golden Ball, the tournament’s best player, which was won by Diego Forlán.

The 2010–11 season started poorly for Robben, after medical tests confirmed that his hamstring had not properly healed and that he would be out for two months. Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge stated that “Of course, Bayern Munich are very angry” with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), and would be seeking compensation from them, continuing, “Once again we must pay the bill as a club after a player is seriously injured playing for a national team.” On 15 January 2011, he returned to first team action, coming on as a substitute in the 1–1 away draw with VfL Wolfsburg.

Robben has been often accused of diving, and he has at times openly admitted to the charges. In December 2011, Robben apologised for a dive against VfL Bochum in a DFB-Pokal match which earned him a yellow card, saying, “I must not do things like this.” In July 2014, Robben admitted to diving in the first half of Netherlands’ match against Mexico in the last 16 round of the 2014 World Cup, but maintained that he had not dived for the decisive penalty he won in stoppage time which Netherlands converted to win 2–1. Following the incident, Robben’s former manager at Chelsea, José Mourinho, said that Robben’s speed and creativity cause opponents who cannot stop him to foul him, but “sometimes [Robben] tries to get an advantage, or to get a penalty”.

On 3 May 2012, it was reported that Robben had signed a new contract with Bayern which would last until 2015.

Robben had an extra-time penalty saved by former teammate Petr Čech in the 2012 Champions League final at the Allianz Arena against Chelsea. Had he scored, Bayern Munich would have led Chelsea 2–1. The match, however, ended in a penalty shootout which Chelsea won. That was the fourth major cup final that he had been on the losing side during the last two years (FIFA World Cup final, two Champions League finals and the DFB-Pokal). Three days later in the same stadium, and while playing as a second-half substitute for the Netherlands in a friendly against Bayern Munich, he was jeered by some disgruntled Bayern fans every time he touched the ball (due to his penalty miss in the Champions League final, and as he did not play on Bayern’s side during that match due to a decision taken by Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk). The match had been organised to compensate Bayern, since Robben aggravated an injury playing for the Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup, and went on to miss several months of the 2010–11 season. He finished the 2011–12 season with 19 goals in 36 appearances.

Robben scored his first goals of the 2013–14 season in the 2013 DFL-Supercup, a 4–2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. On 9 August 2013, his opening goal helped Bayern to a 3–1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in their first match of the 2013–14 Bundesliga campaign. On 17 September, he scored in Bayern’s Champions League opener against CSKA Moscow at the Allianz Arena. He went on to score two further goals during the Champions League group stage; in away wins against Manchester City and CSKA as Bayern finished as group winners. On 23 November, Robben was one of three scorers as Bayern beat title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3–0 at the Westfalenstadion. On 4 December, Robben was substituted with a deep cut on his right knee in a 2–0 DFB-Pokal win away to FC Augsburg which prevented him from taking part in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.

On 1 March 2014, Robben scored a hat-trick in Bayern’s 5–1 win over Schalke 04. On 19 March, he signed a contract extension with Bayern which will keep him at the club until 2017. On 9 April, Robben scored Bayern’s third goal in a 3–1 Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United, to secure qualification to the semi-finals. On 17 May, Robben scored Bayern’s opening goal in a 2–0 extra-time defeat of Borussia Dortmund in the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final, giving him his third league and cup double in five seasons with the club. His goal also made him the first player to score in three separate DFB-Pokal finals. On 13 July, after winning the third place match at the 2014 World Cup, Louis van Gaal invited Robben to follow him to Manchester United, but the latter ruled out the move. He finished the 2013–14 season with 21 goals in 45 appearances.

In Bayern’s opening match of the 2014–15 Bundesliga season, Robben scored one goal and assisted the other as the team defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2–1 on 22 August 2014. On 1 November, he scored the winning goal from a penalty kick against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker. On 16 December 2014, Robben scored his 100th competitive goal for Bayern Munich in a home match against SC Freiburg.

On 21 February 2015, Robben scored twice in a 6–0 win against SC Paderborn, giving him the record of having scored against every Bundesliga team he had faced. He ended 2014–15 alongside teammate Robert Lewandowski as joint second-top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 17 goals. This was in spite of the player missing the last two months of the season through injury. He finished the 2014–15 season with 19 goals in 30 appearances.

On 28 August 2015, Robben was named captain of the Netherlands, replacing Robin van Persie.

On 16 January 2017, Robben signed a one-year extension with Bayern, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2017–18 season. He scored a goal with his right foot for the first time since February 2015 in a 4–0 victory over 1. FSV Mainz 05 on 16 September. On 18 October, Robben made his 100th Champions League appearance in a 3–0 victory over Celtic F.C. in the group stage match of the competition. On 4 November, Robben scored a stunning goal in a 3–1 away win over their Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker which made him Bayern’s most successful non-German scorer in the Bundesliga and the most successful Dutch goal scorer in the Bundesliga. He managed to score twice in a 6–0 away victory over SC Paderborn as Bayern went on through to the semi-final of DFB-Pokal on 6 February 2018. Robben won his seventh Bundesliga title and set a Dutch record by winning his 11th career domestic league title surpassing Dutch legend Johan Cruyff’s 10 career domestic league titles. He finished the 2017–18 season with seven goals in 34 appearances.

On 10 October 2017, Robben retired from international football after the team’s unsuccessful 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. He collected 96 caps between 2003 and 2017 for the Oranje and scored 37 goals.

On 11 May 2018, Robben signed a one-year contract; extending his stay until the end of the 2018–19 season.

On 12 August, he started the season by playing in the 2018 DFL-Supercup for 58 minutes and won the title as Bayern defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory. On 27 November, Robben scored two goals in a 5–1 win against S.L. Benfica in the Champions League. On 2 December, Robben said in an interview “I can say that this is my last year [at Bayern] and it is good like that. I think it is the right moment after ten years. The club moves on and I may move on. It is the end of a very good and long period.”

On 18 May 2019, he scored his last league goal for Bayern in Bundesliga making it a 5–1 victory against Frankfurt, which meant Bayern winning their 28th Bundesliga title and Robben winning his eighth. On 25 May 2019, Robben won his fifth DFB-Pokal as Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. He finished the 2018–19 season with six goals in 19 appearances. In 201 Bundesliga matches he scored 99 goals.

On 4 July 2019, Robben announced his decision to retire from football.

On 27 June 2020, Robben announced his return to the game, signing with FC Groningen, the club he started his career with, in an effort to help the team recover from COVID-19 setbacks. He scored his first goal for Groningen in a pre-season friendly against Arminia Bielefeld. On 13 September 2020, he made his league debut for Groningen against PSV, but he was substituted after only 28 minutes due to injury.