Wesley Sneijder
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Wesley Sneijder (; born 9 June 1984) is a Dutch retired professional
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
. Due to his elite playmaking ability, Sneijder was considered one of the best midfielders in the world during his prime. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he started his professional career playing for
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
, with whom he won four trophies and was awarded the
Johan Cruyff Trophy The title Dutch Footballer of the Year (Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Divi ...
in 2004. He was sold to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
for €27 million in 2007, winning
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
in his first season with the club, and transferred to
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
for €15 million in 2009. At Inter, he won
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
, the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
, the
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
, and two
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
. In 2010, Sneijder was named UEFA midfielder of the season, and one of the three best midfielders in the world by
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
. After being sold to Galatasaray for €7.5 million in 2013, he helped the club win the
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
in his first season, following with the capture of the
Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...
, after a 1–0 win against rivals Fenerbahçe. After an unsuccessful stint with
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
, he concluded his footballing career at Qatar Stars League team
Al Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الغرافة الرياضي) is a Qatari multisports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. It is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. It was estab ...
. Having previously represented various youth squads for the Netherlands, he was a regular player for the Dutch national team, making his debut in April 2003 at the age of 18, and representing his country at the
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,
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(where the Netherlands were defeated 1–0 in
the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
) and
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FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
s, as well as the
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...
,
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and
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UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
s. Individually, he was awarded the 2010 Bronze Boot, the 2010 Silver Ball, and included in the team of the tournament for Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, as well as named man of the match for six out of eleven games played by the ''Oranje'' at these two tournaments. With 134 caps, he is the most capped Dutch player of all time. He announced his international retirement in March 2018. Because of his status as most capped player he was granted a farewell match played against Peru on 6 September 2018.


Early life

Wesley Sneijder was born on 9 June 1984 in
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
into a football family: his father and his older brother
Jeffrey Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...
were both football players. His younger brother Rodney is currently also a professional football player.


Club career


Ajax

Sneijder during his time with Ajax Sneijder moved to
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
's famous youth academy at age seven after beginning as a youth player with local
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
club
DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...
. 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 Excelsior Rotterdam, commonly known as Excelsior, is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion. The club was found ...
on 22 December 2002 when manager
Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was capab ...
, 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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
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 Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...
in the
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
. On 13 April, he scored his first
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
goal against
NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Div ...
in a 3–0 win. He scored three further league goals in wins against Roda JC, RKC Waalwijk and
De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium ...
. 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. 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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
, with Sneijder scoring again in a 4–2 win over
FC Thun Fussballclub Thun 1898 is a Swiss football team from the Bernese Oberland town of Thun. The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second tier of the Swiss football league system, following relegation from the Swiss Super League in ...
. On 7 May 2006, Sneijder was in the starting line-up for Ajax in the
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
final, setting up
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Dirk Jan Klaas "Klaas-Jan" Huntelaar (; born 12 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Huntelaar played for PSV, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, before joining ...
's opening goal in a 2–1 win over PSV at the
De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
stadium in
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
. During the 2006–07 season, Sneijder scored 18 goals in the
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
and 20 goals overall. On 6 May 2007, Sneijder played for Ajax in the final of the
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
as the team defeated AZ on a
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
. On 12 August 2007, Ajax agreed to sell Sneijder to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
for
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
27 million, according to the club's website, making him the second most expensive Dutch football player.


Real Madrid

Sneijder was the second of three Dutchmen to sign for Real Madrid during the 2007–08 season, joining Royston Drenthe and Arjen Robben. He also was given the number 23, which had been previously worn by
David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending ...
for four seasons at Real. In his first
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
match for Real, he scored the winner in the Madrid Derby against
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...
. On the second matchday, he scored two goals against
Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...
, one coming from a direct free-kick. Sneijder capped a fine first season in Spain by hitting a stunning free-kick in the last game of the season against
Levante UD Levante Unión Deportiva, S.A.D. (, ca-valencia, Llevant Unió Esportiva ) is a Spanish football club in Valencia, in the namesake autonomous community. Founded on 9 September 1909, Levante play in Segunda División, holding home games at Ciu ...
at the Santiago Bernabéu, taking his goal tally to nine in the La Liga season, a season which also saw Real retain their league title. On 3 August 2008, Sneijder was stretchered off in a pre-season friendly at the
Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...
, against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
with a suspected
cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and the atlanto-axial joint. In a fashion similar to the cords in a toy Jacob's la ...
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 Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
in
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
. On 2 September 2008, ''AS'' reported that after Robinho's departure to
Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
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 Rafael Ferdinand van der Vaart (born 11 February 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and is currently the assistant manager of Danish 2nd Division club Esbjerg fB. Van der Vaart began his ca ...
, whose preferred number is 23.


Inter Milan


2009–10: Treble champions

On 27 August 2009, Sneijder was bought by
Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...
from Real Madrid for a reported fee of
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
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 Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. 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 Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...
, directly from a free kick, and he scored his first Champions League goal for Inter in a dramatic 2–1
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
win against Dynamo Kyiv in the 89th minute. His next goal was also scored off a hard-swerving free kick in a
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
game against
Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...
. On 9 January 2010, he scored two stunning free kicks against
Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...
in the game which Inter won 4–3. On 24 January, he received a straight
red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or dia ...
in the Milan derby. On 6 April, Sneijder scored a free kick against
CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...
in the Champions League
quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
first leg against defending champions
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. He leveled the game by firing in right-footed from a
Diego Milito Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a sports manager. Milito began his club career in Argentina with Racing Club in 1999, and later moved to Italian ...
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. On 22 May, Inter won the Champions League Final against
Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...
by a score of 2–0. Both goals were scored by
Diego Milito Diego Alberto Milito (born 12 June 1979) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is currently a sports manager. Milito began his club career in Argentina with Racing Club in 1999, and later moved to Italian ...
, with Sneijder supplying the assist for the first goal. The Champions League was Inter's third trophy of the 2009–10 season after winning the
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
and
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
titles.


2010–11: Quintuple and individual success

Sneijder commenced the 2010–11 season on 21 August 2010 by winning the
2010 Supercoppa Italiana The 2010 Supercoppa Italiana was the 23rd Supercoppa Italiana, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions. The match was played at the San Siro on 21 August 2010, and contested b ...
with a 3–1 win over
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
. Five days later, he was named by
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
as the best club midfielder of the 2009–10 Champions League. The day after, at
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
's Stade Louis II, Inter lost to
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
winners
Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based i ...
in the 2010 UEFA Super Cup with Sneijder playing 79 minutes. He scored his first goal of the season in a 2–2 draw against
Twente Twente ( nl, Twente , Tweants dialect: ''Tweante'') is a region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel. Twente is most likely named after the Tuihanti or Tvihanti, a Ge ...
in the Champions League on 14 September, and followed that up with another goal in Inter's second game against
Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
in a 4–0 win at the
San Siro Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, commonly known as San Siro, is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy, which is the home of A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. It has a seating capacity of 80,018, making it one of the largest stadiums ...
on 29 September. On 26 October, Sneijder was shortlisted for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or award, eventually finishing 4th which Barcelona's
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
won. Only two days later, Sneijder signed a five-year contract extension with Inter, tying him to the club until 2015. President Massimo Moratti expressed his delight for the new deal, stating for the club's official website: "Sneijder became a key player for Inter last season and will be this year and for many years to come." Inter finished second in
Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...
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 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
. 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 Allianz Arena (; known as Fußball Arena München for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely known for its exterio ...
, booking a place in the
quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
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.


2011–12: Injury-hit season

Sneijder begun his third season in Inter colours in strong fashion, netting the opener with a free kick in the
2011 Supercoppa Italiana The 2011 TIM Supercoppa Italiana Final was the 24th edition of the Supercoppa, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Serie A and Coppa Italia competitions. The match, the curtain raiser to the new football se ...
match against
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. 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 Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...
. The Dutchman returned in action one month later, playing 66 minutes against Chievo and assisting
Thiago Motta Thiago Motta (; ; born 28 August 1982) is a professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of club Bologna. A midfielder, Motta spent his early career at Barcelona, where he was injury-prone. He played two a ...
's header for a 1–0 win at home, the first of the season. His first championship goal came in the very next game where he scored the opener in an eventual 1–1 draw at
Atalanta Atalanta (; grc-gre, Ἀταλάντη, Atalantē) meaning "equal in weight", is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene and who is primarily kno ...
. 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 Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
. He was replaced by the youngster
Philippe Coutinho Philippe Coutinho Correia (born 12 June 1992) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Aston Villa and the Brazil national team. He is known for his combination of vision, ...
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. Sneijder made his 100th Inter appearance on 26 February by playing the first half of a 1–0 defeat to Napoli. He then scored a brace against Udinese at
Stadio Friuli The Stadio Friuli (known for sponsorship reasons as Dacia Arena) is an all-seater football stadium in Udine, Italy, and the home of Serie A club Udinese. The stadium was built in 1976 and has a capacity of 25,144. It is sponsored by Romanian ca ...
to lead his team to a 3–1 win, also marking his first goals since October 2011. Sneijder concluded his third season as Inter playing by making only 20 league appearances, with the injuries making a big impact. The team finished sixth, conceding 55 goals, just five goals short of equalling their all-time worst concession in a single Serie A campaign. In Coppa Italia, he played two times as Inter were eliminated by Napoli, while in Champions League appeared five times in a round of 16 exit by
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
.


2012–13: Decline and departure

Sneijder's season begun on 2 August by playing against
Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 197 ...
in the first leg of 2012–13 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round. He scored the team's first goal of the season which contributed in a comfortable 3–0 away win. He was on the score-sheet again twenty-four days later in the season opener against Pescara (3–0). Sneijder suffered another misfortune on 26 September as he was taken off after 26 minutes in the league game against Chievo. It turned out to be his last appearance for the team as he and the club didn't find a mutual agreement for the new contract. Despite recovering from the injury, Sneijder wasn't called up in the squad, with president Massimo Moratti describing it as a "technical decision" of the coach. The club offered him a contract running until 2016 with a wage of €6 million plus bonuses to €4 million which Sneijder, who earned around €14,7 million, turned down. Sneijder left the club officially on 20 January in favour of signing with Turkey's Galatasaray, concluding his Inter spell with 116 games and 22 goals, also winning six trophies.


Galatasaray

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 ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
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 Nef Stadium (officially known as the Ali Sami Yen Spor Kompleksi – Nef Stadyumu) is a football stadium serving as the home ground of the Süper Lig club Galatasaray It is located in the Seyrantepe quarter of the Sarıyer district, on the Euro ...
, home of Galatasaray. During the press conference, regarding the questions about Gala legend
Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of ...
, 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 Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, ...
. Sneijder received a warm reception when he replaced
Umut Bulut Umut Bulut (, born 15 March 1983) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays for Eyüpspor. Between 2007 and 2018, he made 39 appearances and scored ten goals for the Turkey national team. Club career Trabzonspor Due to prolific goalscore ...
. He scored his first goal on 25 February in a 4–2 home win against
Orduspor Orduspor was a Turkish football club founded in 1967. The club was located in Ordu, Turkey and played their home games at 19 Eylül Stadium. The team managed to qualify for the Turkish Super League again in 2011. But, the last spell in top lev ...
, 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 Felipe Melo de Carvalho (born 26 June 1983), known as Felipe Melo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Fluminense. He began his career with Campeonato Brasileiro Série A teams Flamengo, Cruzeiro ...
for the 2013–14 Süper Lig season following a squad number reshuffle. On 1 December 2013, when Galatasaray drew with
Kasımpaşa Spor Kulübü Kasımpaşa may refer to: *Kasımpaşa, Beyoğlu Kasımpaşa () is a working-class neighbourhood on the northern shore of the Golden Horn within the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. Once best known for i ...
, Galatasaray manager
Roberto Mancini Roberto Mancini (; born 27 November 1964) is an Italian football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the Italy national team. As a player, Mancini operated as a deep-lying forward, and was best known for his time at Sam ...
, 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 Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...
in a 1–0
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
win to qualify Galatasaray for the knockout phase. On 2 February 2014, Sneijder scored a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
in Süper Lig encounter against
Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In th ...
in a 6–0 win. On 6 April 2014, he scored his first
derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
goal against rivals Fenerbahçe, in a 1–0 home win. On 7 May 2014, Sneijder played a major part in the
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas ...
final against
Eskişehirspor Eskişehirspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in Eskişehir. Eskisehirspor has a total of six trophies, making them the sixth most trophies holders in Turkey. Founded in 1965, Eskişehirspor competed in the top divisio ...
, scoring the only goal of the game in the 70th minute and receiving the Man of the Match award for his performance. Sneijder scored ten goals throughout the season during the 2014–15 Süper Lig campaign. By almost single-handedly winning many games for his team, he has been the man in the spotlight for Galatasaray in securing the league title. On 25 May, Sneijder celebrated the championship alongside Gala fans at the front yard of his residence after Başakşehir drew with Fenerbahçe, which brought Galatasaray the triumph. During the official title ceremony, Sneijder sang the famous Gala chant "Don't cry Fener" into the microphone in front of 52000 Gala fans. Since his arrival, Sneijder has become the most efficient agent for the Lions regarding the Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray rivalry. He has scored three goals against Fenerbahçe in league matches in a year, which is more than enough for Galatasaray society to name a player a club legend. In the home game against Fenerbahçe, which was played on matchday 6, Sneijder sent out two long-range rockets in the 88th and 90th minutes, where Galatasaray claimed the victory against their bitter rivals. Overall, he has scored six long-range goals and three free kicks in league and cup games. In his 100th game for Galatasaray, he also scored the only goal against Gençlerbirliği on matchday 32, which helped the Lions stay at the top of the league table for the time being. In the 2014–15 Turkish Cup, he also helped his team reach the final by providing three goals and three assists. Galatasaray won the final 3–2 against
Bursaspor Bursaspor Kulübü Derneği (), commonly known as Bursaspor, is a Turkish sports club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, the club colours are green and white, with home kits usually featuring both colours in a striped pattern. In th ...
which was held in
Bursa Atatürk Stadium Bursa Atatürk Stadium ( tr, Bursa Atatürk Stadyumu) was a multi-purpose stadium in Bursa, Turkey. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home ground of Bursaspor. The stadium held 25,213 and was built in 1979. A stadium had exis ...
on 3 June. Sneijder assisted the first goal off of striker Burak Yılmaz's hat-trick. During Galatasaray's
2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...
campaign, where they were knocked out at the
group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
, Sneijder scored one goal–a late free kick against
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
at home–and made one assist. Sneijder was made vice captain of Galatasaray. Sneijder began the season scoring the only goal for his team in the 35th Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu, where Galatasaray visited Real Madrid on 18 August. The game ended with a 2–1 victory for Real Madrid. On matchday 3 of the 2015–16 Süper Lig in which Galatasaray visited Konyaspor, Sneijder scored two goals in the second half and led his team to a 1–4 away win, despite his side being down to ten men after
Lionel Carole Lionel Jules Carole (born 12 April 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left back for Turkish club Kayserispor. He is a French youth international, having earned caps at under-17, under-20, and under-21 level. Club caree ...
's 67th-minute red card, receiving prior to Sneijder's double. On 3 October, Sneijder signed a three-year contract extension with Galatasaray. He immediately received a €1.3 million
signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...
, and his basic salaries in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons would be €3.2 million, plus various bonuses. 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


Nice

On 7 August 2017, Sneijder joined
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...
side
Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative ...
on a free transfer. During his five-month stay at the club, he made 8 appearances and provided one assist to a
Mario Balotelli Mario Balotelli Barwuah (; ''né'' Barwuah; born 12 August 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion. Balotelli started his professional football career in 2005 at Lumezzane, before ...
goal in a
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
match against
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
.


Al-Gharafa

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 League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
2–1 win over Al Ahli Doha at the
Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Doha, Qatar. It is the home ground of Al Ahli SC (Doha) and Al-Sailiya SC Al-Sailiya Sports Club ( ar, نادي السيلية الرياضي) is a Qatari professional football club curr ...
. On 12 August 2019, Sneijder announced his decision to retire from football, and begin working for
FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merg ...
.


International career

Sneijder made his debut for the Netherlands under-21 side against the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
on 28 March 2003. His first game with the senior Dutch side was against
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
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 Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, surpassing the record which had previously held by
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
for 4002 days.


Euro 2004

Sneijder reached the
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...
semi-finals with the Netherlands. He began the competition mainly on the bench, and was subbed into two group stage matches: his team's first match against Germany and their third match against Latvia. He had also contributed two goals in the
qualifying tournament Qualification is either the process of qualifying for an achievement, or a credential attesting to that achievement, and may refer to: * Professional qualification, attributes developed by obtaining academic degrees or through professional exper ...
.


2006 World Cup

Sneijder started all four games for the Netherlands at the
2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host th ...
in Germany. He received one of the record 16 yellow cards doled out during the infamous Round of 16 clash with Portugal (titled the " Battle of Nuremberg") after pushing the Portuguese midfielder Petit to the ground during a brawl between Portuguese and Dutch players; Portugal went on to win 1–0.


Euro 2008

In the build-up to
Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
, Sneijder scored a free kick in a friendly against
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
on 31 May, making it his second strike from a direct free kick in a row. The game ended 2–0 with a goal from fellow Real Madrid teammate Arjen Robben. Sneijder marked his 24th birthday in style by scoring one of the goals of the tournament; the second goal in the 31st minute of the Euro 2008 match against the World Cup champions,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. Following Giovanni van Bronckhorst's goal-line clearance and subsequent run into the Italian half, Sneijder received a headed ball from
Dirk Kuyt Dirk Kuijt (anglicised to Kuyt, ; born 22 July 1980) is a Dutch former professional footballer and was the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag. Originally starting out as a striker, he played much of his career as a winger. Kuyt beg ...
and volleyed it with an acrobatic strike past
Gianluigi Buffon Gianluigi Buffon (; born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded pl ...
. This brought the score to 2–0 after
Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...
's opener five minutes prior. The match finished with a 3–0 victory to the Dutch after a third goal was scored by van Bronkhorst after another run by him, following a crucial save from
Edwin van der Sar Edwin van der Sar (; born 29 October 1970) is a Dutch football executive and former professional player who is currently the chief executive of AFC Ajax, with whom he began his senior playing career in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a m ...
. Sneijder's goal contributed to the Netherlands' first victory over Italy in 30 years, which was the biggest defeat Italy had suffered since
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
beat them by the same margin in 1983. Many fans and pundits agreed that this goal was one of the best of the tournament. On 13 June, he scored another goal for the ''Oranje'' in the Euro 2008 group stage match against
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
: in the 92nd minute, from outside the box, Sneijder struck the ball into the corner of the net, bouncing off the crossbar on its way in. The match finished 4–1 for the Netherlands. Although the Dutch lost to the
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
in the quarter-final, Sneijder was named in the Team of the Tournament for his strong performances.


2010 World Cup

Sneijder was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
. He scored the winning goal in a 1–0 victory over
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
. In the first two matches of the group stage at the
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
, he was selected as the man of the match in both. In the Netherlands' round of 16 match against
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the ...
, Sneijder scored in a 2–1 victory. He also provided what was at first thought to be an assist for the first goal against
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
in the quarter-finals, but was later credited with the goal. He then scored the first header of his career direct from a corner and consigned Brazil to a 2–1 defeat, bringing his goal total in the tournament to four. Sneijder was again named man of the match on
FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
's website. In the
semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
against
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, Sneijder scored in the 70th minute, taking his total in the competition to five, raising him at the time to first place in terms of goals scored, along with
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
's
David Villa David Villa Sánchez (; born 3 December 1981) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as a striker. Villa is regarded by pundits as one of the best forwards of his generation, and one of the best Spanish strikers of all time. ...
. The Netherlands won the match 3–2 and progressed to the final. Sneijder was yet again named on FIFA's website as the Budweiser man of the match according to the public online vote. In the World Cup Final, the Dutch lost to Spain 1–0 after extra time, conceding the only goal of the match after 116 minutes to
Andrés Iniesta Andrés Iniesta Luján (; born 11 May 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of hi ...
.


Euro 2012

For
Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
, the Netherlands were in Group B, also known as the "
group of death A group of death in a multi-stage tournament is a group which is unusually competitive, because the number of strong competitors in the group is greater than the number of qualifying places available for the next phase of the tournament. Thus, ...
," alongside Portugal,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, 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.


2014 World Cup

In August 2012, after the retirement of
Mark van Bommel Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He is currently the manager of Belgian side Royal Antwerp. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tacklin ...
, Sneijder was named as
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of the Netherlands. Less than a year later, however, he was replaced with
Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball c ...
by coach
Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spe ...
. Sneijder was named in the Netherlands' squad for the 2014 World Cup and made his 100th international appearance in the team's opening match, a 5–1 demolition of world champions Spain on 13 June. In the
round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
, Sneijder scored an 88th-minute equaliser, as the Netherlands recovered from a 0–1 deficit to overcome
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
2–1 in
Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
. In the
quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
, Sneijder scored the Netherlands' third penalty kick in a 4–3
penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...
defeat of
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
. The
semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...
match against
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
was also decided by a shootout, with Sneijder one of two Netherlands players to have his kick saved by goalkeeper Sergio Romero in a 4–2 defeat. Sneijder was originally part of the Dutch starting line-up in the bronze game against Brazil, but he was replaced by
Jonathan de Guzmán Jonathan Alexander de Guzmán (born 13 September 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sparta Rotterdam. Born in Canada, he represented the Netherlands internationally. De Guzmán is Canadian-born, but made himself av ...
after an injury during the pre-match warm-up prevented him from playing.


Later years

Sneijder appeared in all of the 10 matches of the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
campaign and in six of the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
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 , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, at the
Johan Cruyff Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
, on 6 September 2018; the match ended in a 2–1 home victory for the Dutch.


Style of play

A creative and versatile
midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, Sneijder was recognised as one of the classic playmakers of the 2010s. From his impeccable placement and confirmed ability to score from free kicks, Sneijder earned the reputation as a dead-ball specialist. Because of his short stature, he was quick and strong on the ball, and his passing range was enhanced by his ambidexterity; he was also renowned for his powerful striking ability from long range, with either foot. In addition to his vision and ability to create chances for teammates, Sneijder was also noted for his intelligence and great technical ability. Although he began his career in his preferred role as an
attacking midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
behind the forwards, he was capable of playing in several midfield positions and was also deployed on the
wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expre ...
or on occasion even up front as a second striker or main striker; in later seasons, he was usually played in the
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
, as a
deep-lying playmaker A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundari ...
, due to his ability to dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield with his passing, although he had stated that he did not favour this position. During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he was also deployed in a new role which was later described as a false-10 or central winger, due to Sneijder's tendency to drift from the centre into a wide position when in possession of the ball. Despite his talent he also drew criticism at times for his limited defensive work-rate as well as his lack of pace, and was also known to be prone to injury.


Personal life

Sneijder has been married to Dutch-Spanish actress and presenter Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen since July 2010, although the couple are no longer together; he has two sons one of them from his first marriage. Inspired by his wife and by Inter teammate
Javier Zanetti Javier Adelmar Zanetti (; born 10 August 1973) is an Argentine former professional footballer. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation, and is especially well known for his role in Inter Milan's treble-winning 2009–10 seas ...
, Sneijder converted to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and was baptized in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
. Sneijder has two brothers:
Jeffrey Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...
, a former footballer, and Rodney, a former
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
player who now plays for DHSC, an amateur club from 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
f it F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...
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 Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
." During an interview in a radio station in
Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, Sneijder's brother Rodney confirmed that he and Wesley Sneijder (along with their other brother Jeffrey) have part-Greek descent, since their paternal grandmother was a Greek woman born in
Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...
who moved to
Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
.


Awards

In October 2008, Dutch magazine ''
Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...
'' 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 Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional footballer who played as a striker. Regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Van Persie was known for his excellent technique and ball c ...
came second with 21% and striker
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Dirk Jan Klaas "Klaas-Jan" Huntelaar (; born 12 August 1983) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a striker. Huntelaar played for PSV, De Graafschap, AGOVV Apeldoorn, Heerenveen, Ajax, Real Madrid and Milan, before joining ...
was third with 3% of the vote. He was voted as the best player of the 2009–10 season by Goal.com.


Career statistics


Club

1 Includes
Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was established in 1993 and, unlike the Coupe de France ...
and Qatari Stars Cup matches.
2 Includes
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
,
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
and
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
matches.
3 Includes
Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footba ...
, Eredivisie playoffs,
Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...
,
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...
,
Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...
,
UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...
and
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
matches.


International

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" , + Appearances and goals by national team and year , - !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals , - , rowspan="16",
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, 2003, , 3, , 2 , - , 2004, , 14, , 3 , - , 2005, , 3, , 0 , - , 2006, , 10, , 0 , - , 2007, , 11, , 3 , - , 2008, , 10, , 3 , - , 2009, , 7, , 1 , - , 2010, , 15, , 7 , - , 2011, , 7, , 4 , - , 2012, , 10, , 1 , - , 2013, , 6, , 2 , - , 2014, , 15, , 2 , - , 2015, , 9, , 1 , - , 2016, , 6, , 1 , - , 2017, , 7, , 1 , - , 2018, , 1, , 0 , - !colspan="2", Total, , 134, , 31 :''Scores and results list the Netherlands' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Sneijder goal.'' {, class="wikitable sortable" , + List of international goals scored by Wesley Sneijder , - ! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition , - , 1. , , 11 October 2003 , , Philips Stadion,
Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,UEFA Euro 2004 qualification , - , 2. , , 19 November 2003 , ,
Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
,
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
, Netherlands , , {{fb, SCO , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 6–0 , , UEFA Euro 2004 qualification , - , 3. , , 18 August 2004 , ,
Råsunda Stadium Råsunda Stadium (; also known as Råsunda Fotbollsstadion, Råsundastadion, Råsunda Football Stadium or just Råsunda) was the Swedish national football stadium. It was located in Solna Municipality in Stockholm and named after the district i ...
,
Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...
, Sweden , , {{fb, SWE , , align=center , 1–1 , , align=center , 2–2 , , Friendly , - , 4. , , 8 June 2005 , , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, FIN , , align=center , 1–1 , , align=center , 3–1 , ,
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation – the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America) ...
, - , 5. , , 17 August 2005 , ,
Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (, formerly known as the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc and Estadio de Montjuic) is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition, 1929 Internation ...
,
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, Spain , , {{fb, AND , , align=center , 3–0 , , align=center , 3–0 , 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification , - , 6. , , 24 March 2007 , , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, RUS , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 4–1 , , Friendly , - , 7. , , 8 September 2007 , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands, , {{fb, BUL , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , , UEFA Euro 2008 qualification , - , 8. , , 17 October 2007 , , Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands , , {{fb, SVN , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , UEFA Euro 2008 qualification , - , 9. , , 1 May 2008 , ,
De Kuip Stadion Feijenoord (), more commonly known by its nickname De Kuip (, the Tub), is a stadium in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was completed in 1937. The name is derived from the Feijenoord district in Rotterdam, and from the club with the same na ...
,
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte (river), Rotte'') is the second largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the Prov ...
, Netherlands , , {{fb, WAL , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , , Friendly , - , 10. , , 9 June 2008 , ,
Stade de Suisse The Wankdorf Stadium (; between 2005 and 2020 known as Stade de Suisse) is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it currently serves as the home ground of the Swiss football team ...
,
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
, Switzerland , , {{fb, ITA , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 3–0 , ,
UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
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Grolsch Veste De Grolsch Veste (, en, The Grolsch Fortress, previously known as ''Arke Stadion'' ) is the stadium of football club FC Twente. It is located in Enschede, Netherlands, at the Business & Science Park, near the University of Twente. The stadium ha ...
,
Enschede Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
, Netherlands , , {{fb, JPN , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 3–0 , , Friendly , - , 13. , , 1 June 2010 , , De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, GHA , , align=center , 3–1 , , align=center , 4–1 , Friendly , - , 14. , , 5 June 2010 , , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, HUN , , align=center , 2–1 , , align=center , 6–1 , Friendly , - , 15. , , 19 June 2010 , , Moses Mabhida Stadium,
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, South Africa , , {{fb, JPN , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 1–0 , ,
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, - , 16. , , 28 June 2010 , Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban, South Africa, , {{fb, SVK , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–1 , ,
2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, - , 17. , , rowspan="2", 2 July 2010 , , rowspan="2", Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium,
Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...
, South Africa , , rowspan="2", {{fb, BRA , , align=center , 1–1 , , rowspan="2" align=center , 2–1 , rowspan="2" , 2010 FIFA World Cup , - , 18. , , align=center , 2–1 , - , 19. , , 6 July 2010 , ,
Cape Town Stadium The Cape Town Stadium ( af, Kaapstad-stadion; xh, Inkundla yezemidlalo yaseKapa) is an association football (soccer) and rugby union stadium in Cape Town, South Africa, that was built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. During the planning stage, it wa ...
,
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa , , {{fb, URU , , align=center , 2–1 , , align=center , 3–2 , 2010 FIFA World Cup , - , 20. , , 9 February 2011 , , Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands , , {{fb, AUT , , align=center , 1–0 , , align=center , 3–1 , , Friendly , - , 21. , , 29 March 2011 , , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, HUN , , align=center , 2–2 , , align=center , 5–3 , ,
UEFA Euro 2012 qualification The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was hel ...
, - , 22. , , rowspan="2", 3 September 2011 , , rowspan="2", Philips Stadion, Eindhoven, Netherlands , , rowspan="2", {{fb, SMR , , align=center , 2–0 , , rowspan="2" align=center , 11–0 , rowspan="2" , UEFA Euro 2012 qualification , - , 23. , , align=center , 10–0 , - , 24. , , 2 June 2012 , , Amsterdam Arena, Amsterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, NIR , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 6–0 , , Friendly , - , 25. , , 11 June 2013 , ,
Workers Stadium The Workers' Stadium (), often called Gongti, Gong Ti or Kung T'i, is a multi-purpose stadium in the Chaoyang District of north-eastern Beijing, China. It was mostly used for association football matches. The stadium was built in 1959 and was ...
,
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
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China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
, , {{fb, CHN , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , Friendly , - , 26. , , 15 October 2013 , ,
Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium The Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium () (Known for sponsorship reasons as Ülker Stadyumu Fenerbahçe Şükrü Saracoğlu Spor Kompleksi, or Ülker Stadium for short) is a football stadium located in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is th ...
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Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, , {{fb, TUR , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 2–0 , , 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification , - , 27. , , 29 June 2014 , , Estádio Castelão,
Fortaleza Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
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2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from ...
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Astana Arena The Astana Arena ( kk, Астана Арена) is a football stadium in Astana, Kazakhstan. The stadium holds 30,000 and has a retractable roof. It serves as the national stadium for the Kazakhstan national football team. Astana Arena is the lar ...
,
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmola Region, tho ...
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Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
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UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
, - , 30. , , 6 September 2016 , ,
Friends Arena Nationalarenan, currently known as Friends Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the Stockholm City Centre, City Centre, it is ...
,
Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the ...
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Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
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2018 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification process was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations to decide 31 of the 32 teams which would play in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with Russia qualifying automatically as hosts. All 210 ...
, - , 31. , , 9 June 2017 , , De Kuip, Rotterdam, Netherlands , , {{fb, LUX , , align=center , 2–0 , , align=center , 5–0 , 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification


Honours

Ajax{{cite web, url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/wesley-sneijder/34/, title=W. Sneijder, publisher=Soccerway, access-date=13 August 2016 *
Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...
: 2003–04 *
KNVB Cup The KNVB Beker (; en, KNVB Cup), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organized by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Ou ...
: 2005–06, 2006–07 *
Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footba ...
:
2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...
Real Madrid *
La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Banco Santander, Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaL ...
: 2007–08 Inter Milan *
Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
: 2009–10 *
Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...
: 2009–10,
2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...
*
Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana ( en, Italian Super Cup) is an annual association football, football match contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season. If the same team wins both the Serie A and Coppa Italia titles ...
:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
*
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
: 2009–10 *
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Galatasaray *
Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), officially known as Spor Toto Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional league for association football clubs. It is the top-flight of the Turkish football league system and is run by the ...
: 2012–13, 2014–15 *
Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Kupası'') is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupas ...
: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16 *
Turkish Super Cup The Turkish Super Cup ( Turkish: ''TFF Süper Kupa''), as it is currently known, is the annual super cup football match contested between the previous season's Süper Lig champions and the Turkish Cup winners in Turkey. It was originally known as ...
:
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...
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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
Al-Gharafa * Qatari Stars Cup: 2018–19 Netherlands *
FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
runner-up:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
; third place:
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
Individual * Ajax Talent of the Future (Sjaak Swart Award) 2001–02 *
Johan Cruyff Trophy The title Dutch Footballer of the Year (Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Divi ...
: 2004 * Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2006–07 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
*
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
top assist provider:
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
* UEFA European Championship Best Goal of the Tournament:
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
* UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2009–10 * UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 2009–10 * FIFA World Cup Silver Ball:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
{{cite web , url = https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/awards/index.html , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101206032402/http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/southafrica2010/awards/index.html , url-status = dead , archive-date = 6 December 2010 , title = 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ – Awards , publisher = fifa.com , access-date = 31 October 2015 * FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot: 2010 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
* FIFA World Cup Dream Team:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
* Goal 50: 2010 * FIFA FIFPro World XI:
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
*
UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...
: 2010 * ESM Team of the Year: 2009–10 * Inter Milan Hall of Fame: 2021{{Cite web , date=9 February 2022 , title=Wesley Sneijder inducted into the Inter Hall of Fame, url=https://www.inter.it/en/news/2022/02/09/wesley-sneijder-hall-of-fame.html , url-status=live , archive-url= , archive-date= , access-date=9 February 2022 , website=Inter Official Site


See also

* List of footballers with 100 or more caps


References

{{reflist


External links

{{Commons category * {{Official website
Sneijder Wesley 2009/10 profile
Inter Milan
Sneijder Wesley profile
Sportepoch * {{ESPN FC
Wesley Sneijder Owes His Place in National Team to Gökhan Saki and Kickboxing
on WorldKickboxing.Net * {{UEFA player, 57132, archive=20200712022643 * {{NFT player {{Navboxes , title = Netherlands squads , bg = #F1771D , fg = white , bordercolor = blue , list1 = {{Netherlands squad UEFA Euro 2004 {{Netherlands squad 2006 FIFA World Cup {{Netherlands squad UEFA Euro 2008 {{Netherlands squad 2010 FIFA World Cup {{Netherlands squad UEFA Euro 2012 {{Netherlands squad 2014 FIFA World Cup {{Navboxes , title = Awards , bg = Gold , bordercolor = #000000 , list1 = {{2010 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament {{UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament {{UEFA Club Football Awards {{Dutch Football Talent of the Year {{AFC Ajax Player of the Year {{AFC Ajax Talent of the Future {{2010 UEFA Team of the Year {{Inter Milan Hall of Fame {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Sneijder, Wesley 1984 births Living people Dutch people of Greek descent Footballers from Utrecht (city) Dutch Roman Catholics Converts to Roman Catholicism Dutch footballers Association football midfielders AFC Ajax players Real Madrid CF players Inter Milan players Galatasaray S.K. footballers OGC Nice players Al-Gharafa SC players Eredivisie players La Liga players Serie A players Süper Lig players Ligue 1 players Qatar Stars League players UEFA Champions League winning players Netherlands youth international footballers Netherlands under-21 international footballers Netherlands international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players FIFA Century Club Dutch expatriate footballers Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Dutch expatriate sportspeople in France Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate footballers in Spain Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Turkey Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Qatar FC Utrecht non-playing staff VV DOS players