Wesley Sneijder

Wesley Sneijder was born on 9 June 1984 in Utrecht into a football family: his father and his older brother Jeffrey were both football players. His younger brother Rodney is currently also a professional football player.

Sneijder started his career in AFC Ajax's famous youth academy. Following his older brother's footsteps, he signed for Ajax, initially on trial but subsequently impressed enough to be signed on a permanent basis. He first made the bench as an unused substitute for Ajax in a 2–0 win at SBV Excelsior on 22 December 2002 when manager Ronald Koeman, troubled by an injury-filled squad, called him up, advised by Danny Blind, the then-coach of the Ajax youth squad. On 2 February 2003, Sneijder made his official Ajax debut against Willem II in a 6–0 win. He quickly established himself in the first team, starting in the Champions League quarter-final match against A.C. Milan on 23 April 2003.

On 5 March 2003, Sneijder scored his first goal for Ajax in a 4–1 win over FC Groningen in the KNVB Cup. On 13 April, he scored his first Eredivisie goal against NAC Breda in a 3–0 win. He scored three further league goals in wins against Roda JC, RKC Waalwijk and De Graafschap. The following season, he scored nine league goals as Ajax won the 2003–04 Eredivisie title. Sneijder's performances saw him awarded the Johan Cruijff Prijs for the season's best young player in the Netherlands.

Sneijder made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 side against the Czech Republic on 28 March 2003. His first game with the senior Dutch side was against Portugal on 30 April that same year when he became the eighth-youngest player to play for the Netherlands in the first team's history. On 9 June 2017, he became the nation's most capped player of all-time when he made his 131st appearance in a 5–0 win over Luxembourg, surpassing the record which had previously held by Edwin van der Sar for 4002 days.

On 14 September 2005, he scored his first Champions League goal in a group match against AC Sparta Praha. Ajax qualified for the knockout stage, with Sneijder scoring again in a 4–2 win over FC Thun.

On 7 May 2006, Sneijder was in the starting line-up for Ajax in the KNVB Cup final, setting up Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's opening goal in a 2–1 win over PSV at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam.

During the 2006–07 season, Sneijder scored 18 goals in the Eredivisie and 20 goals overall. On 6 May 2007, Sneijder played for Ajax in the final of the KNVB Cup as the team defeated AZ on a penalty shootout.

On 12 August 2007, Ajax agreed to sell Sneijder to Real Madrid for €27 million, according to the club's website, making him the second most expensive Dutch football player.

On 3 August 2008, Sneijder was stretchered off in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates Stadium, against Arsenal with a suspected cruciate ligament injury after a collision with Abou Diaby. Sneijder had an MRI which confirmed the extent of the injury to be not as bad as first feared. It was expected that he would be out for at least three months. He managed, however, to recover in time and was included in the starting XI for the Champions League clash against Juventus in Turin.

On 2 September 2008, AS reported that after Robinho's departure to Manchester City for €42 million, Sneijder would now be Real Madrid's new number 10. One day later, Real Madrid confirmed on their website that Sneijder would wear 10. His previous number, 23, was taken over by his fellow Dutchman and former Ajax teammate Rafael van der Vaart, whose preferred number is 23.

Sneijder has two brothers: Jeffrey, a former footballer, and Rodney, who plays for Jong FC Utrecht. In May 2008, it was reported that Sneijder had blocked a summer transfer of Rodney to his own club at the time, Real Madrid. Wesley Sneijder said, "Real Madrid wanted him and Rodney was very happy about that. But when I heard [of it], I stopped the discussions. I am not in favour of juniors increasingly going to top clubs. I've told him that he first must make a breakthrough at Ajax."

In October 2008, Dutch magazine Voetbal International conducted a poll to decide who was the best Dutch free kick taker. Sneijder received an overwhelming 70% of the votes, while Robin van Persie came second with 21% and striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar was third with 3% of the vote. He was voted as the best player of the 2009–10 season by Goal.com.

On 27 August 2009, Sneijder was bought by Inter Milan from Real Madrid for a reported fee of €15 million. He was given the number 10 shirt and made his debut a day after he signed the contract, making an immediate impact by being on the winning side in the Milan Derby (4–0) against Milan. On 3 October 2009, he scored his first goal in the 92nd minute against Udinese in a 2–1 win. His second goal was scored on 24 October 2009 against Catania, directly from a free kick, and he scored his first Champions League goal for Inter in a dramatic 2–1 group stage win against Dynamo Kyiv in the 89th minute. His next goal was also scored off a hard-swerving free kick in a Coppa Italia game against Livorno.

On 9 January 2010, he scored two stunning free kicks against Siena in the game which Inter won 4–3. On 24 January, he received a straight red card in the Milan derby. On 6 April, Sneijder scored a free kick against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League quarter-final in the sixth minute, to give Inter a 2–0 aggregate win. On 20 April, he scored Inter's equalising goal during their Champions League semi-final first leg against defending champions Barcelona. He leveled the game by firing in right-footed from a Diego Milito pass. Inter went on to win the game 3–1 and the tie 3–2 on aggregate. Sneijder was given the nickname "The Sniper" by the media for his ability to deliver perfect passes and score from impressive distances.

Sneijder commenced the 2010–11 season on 21 August 2010 by winning the 2010 Supercoppa Italiana with a 3–1 win over Roma. Five days later, he was named by UEFA as the best club midfielder of the 2009–10 Champions League. The day after, at Monaco's Stade Louis II, Inter lost to UEFA Europa League winners Atlético Madrid in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup with Sneijder playing 79 minutes.

Inter finished second in Group A of the Champions League and were drawn against Bayern Munich (whom they had beaten in the previous season's final) in the round of 16. In the first leg, Sneijder and Inter were uninspired and lost 1–0 to a late Mario Gómez goal at the San Siro. On 15 March 2011, Sneijder helped Inter turn it around, scoring in the 63rd-minute leading to a 3–2 win (3–3 on aggregate, Inter progressing on away goals) at the Allianz Arena, booking a place in the quarter-final against Germany's Schalke 04. The first leg of that quarter-final ended 5–2 to Schalke. Sneijder also played in the second leg of the tie but could not prevent his team from losing 2–1 and 7–3 on aggregate.

Sneijder begun his third season in Inter colours in strong fashion, netting the opener with a free kick in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana match against Milan. The match however ended in a 2–1 win for Rossoneri. In September, he injured his left thigh during the 3–1 away loss to newcomers Novara.

Sneijder suffered another injury later in November 2011 when he damaged his right knee's rectus femoris muscle during the warm-up before the start of the match against Cagliari. He was replaced by the youngster Philippe Coutinho who scored in the match. The injury forced Sneijder to miss the rest of 2011, returning in the field on 15 January as a late substitute for goalscorer Diego Milito in the derby victory over Milan.

For Euro 2012, the Netherlands were in Group B, also known as the "group of death," alongside Portugal, Germany, and Denmark. Sneijder was deployed as an attacking midfielder as the Netherlands lost 1–0 and 2–1 to Denmark and Germany, respectively. Against Portugal, they lost again 2–1, with Sneijder playing on the left wing to see the Netherlands have an early exit from Euro 2012.

In August 2012, after the retirement of Mark van Bommel, Sneijder was named as captain of the Netherlands. Less than a year later, however, he was replaced with Robin van Persie by coach Louis van Gaal.

After reportedly falling out of favour with Inter due to contract renewal issues, Sneijder agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Turkish giants Galatasaray on 20 January 2013 for a fee of €7.5 million. Thousands of Galatasaray fans welcomed the Dutch international at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport as soon as Sneijder's exact arrival time was announced by the club on their official website. Sneijder signed the official contract on 21 January at the Türk Telekom Arena, home of Galatasaray. During the press conference, regarding the questions about Gala legend Gheorghe Hagi, Sneijder said, "He was a legend, and I want to become a legend." Later, he appeared on the club's official TV station Galatasaray TV, where he answered several questions about his transfer to Galatasaray and personal life. He also sent out a message addressing the Galatasaray fans: "Thank you for the support. I'm really proud, and I will make you guys even more proud. I'm happy to be here, and I can't wait to play my first game for you guys."

On 27 January, Sneijder made his debut, coming on as a substitute in a 2–1 win against rivals Beşiktaş. Sneijder received a warm reception when he replaced Umut Bulut. He scored his first goal on 25 February in a 4–2 home win against Orduspor, where he produced a finesse shot from the edge of the box, turning the game back on for the home side as Galatasaray were down by two goals. On 9 April 2013, Sneijder scored Galatasaray's second goal in a 3–2 win over his former club Real Madrid in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League. On 5 May 2013, Galatasaray beat Sivasspor 2–1 to win the 2012–13 Süper Lig, this gave Sneijder a league title in a fourth different country.

After using the number 14 shirt in his debut season with Galatasaray, Sneijder was given the number 10 shirt previously worn by Felipe Melo for the 2013–14 Süper Lig season following a squad number reshuffle. On 1 December 2013, when Galatasaray drew with Kasımpaşa Spor Kulübü, Galatasaray manager Roberto Mancini, in response to the question "where is Sneijder?" asked by reporters during a post-match interview answered, "Sneijder has left and I do not know where he has gone," while Galatasaray's official website had earlier informed the media on the reason for Sneijder's absence.

On 11 December 2013, Sneijder scored a late winning goal against Juventus in a 1–0 UEFA Champions League win to qualify Galatasaray for the knockout phase. On 2 February 2014, Sneijder scored a hat-trick in Süper Lig encounter against Bursaspor in a 6–0 win.

On 6 April 2014, he scored his first derby goal against rivals Fenerbahçe, in a 1–0 home win. On 7 May 2014, Sneijder played a major part in the Turkish Cup final against Eskişehirspor, scoring the only goal of the game in the 70th minute and receiving the Man of the Match award for his performance.

On 14 July 2017, Sneijder and Galatasaray terminated his contract resulting in him becoming a free agent. Sneijder was reported to have released himself from the contract by buying himself out of the remaining period for €4.5 million

On 7 August 2017, Sneijder joined Ligue 1 side Nice on a free transfer. During his five-month stay at the club, he made 8 appearances and gave one assist to a Mario Balotelli's goal in a UEFA Europa League match against Lazio.

After getting released by Nice, Sneijder joined Qatari club Al-Gharafa. He made his debut on 12 January 2018, captaining the team and giving an assist in the league 2–1 win over Al Ahli Doha at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium.

Sneijder appeared in all of the 10 matches of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign and in six of the 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign, which both ended in failure for the Netherlands. He announced his retirement from international football on 4 March 2018, holding a record 133 appearances for the national team. He made his 134th and final international appearance in a friendly match against Peru, at the Johan Cruyff Arena, on 6 September 2018; the match ended in a 2–1 home victory for the Dutch.

On 12 August 2019, Sneijder announced his decision to retire from football, and begin working for FC Utrecht.