Wesley Sneijder

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ey Sneijder (born June 9, 1984 in Utrecht) is a Dutch professional footballer who is currently contracted to Real Madrid. He is also a regular member of the Dutch national team. His younger brother Rodney Sneijder plays for AFC Ajax C1.


Real Madrid

On August 12, 2007, Ajax agreed to sell Sneijder to Real Madrid for 27 million euros, according to the club's web-site, making him the second most expensive Dutch football player. He was the second of three Dutchmen to sign for Real Madrid for the 2007 season joining Royston Drenthe and later Arjen Robben. He also was given the number 23 which was worn by David Beckham which he wore for 4 full seasons at Real Madrid.

In his first La Liga match for Real Madrid he scored the winner in the Madrid derby against Atlético Madrid. On the second matchday, he scored two goals against Villareal, one of which was from a 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 at the Bernabeu and taking his goal tally to 9 in La Liga in a season which also saw Real retain their title.


National team

Sneijder debuted with the Netherlands Under-21 side against Czech Republic on 28 March 2003. His first game with the Dutch national team was against Portugal on 30 April that same year, when he became the eighth youngest man to play for Holland in the team’s history.

Sneijder reached the Euro 2004 semifinals with the Netherlands. He began the competition warming the bench, but he soon found a spot in the starting eleven and scored two goals. He was a also a starter in the four matches the Oranje played in the Germany 2006 World Cup before they were eliminated by Portugal.

He scored a magnificent free kick in a friendly against Wales on 31st May, 2008, making it his second strike from a direct free kick in a row. The game ended 2-0 with goals from Real Madrid pair Arjen Robben and Sneijder.