Wesley Sneijder Has Announced His Retirement From Professional Football

Former Ajax, Real Madrid and Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has announced his retirement from professional football.

The 35-year-old has confirmed he will now become an ambassador for Eredivisie side FC Utrecht ahead of the new 2019/20 campaign.

"My love for the city of Utrecht is great," he told the club's official website.

"We often talked about the possibility of me coming here, and now we've put this thing on paper. I'm looking forward to a great season!"

Image: PA

Sneijder, who reached a World Cup final with the Netherlands in 2010, made a record 134 caps for his country.

He scored 31 goals and 31 assists in that time and will go down as one of Holland's greatest ever players.

And on his final appearance for his country, organisers pulled out all the stops inside the Johan Cruyff Arena, creating a cozy living-room-style setting in the middle of the pitch.

His family watched on as goodwill messages played on the TV.

Sneijder also won the Treble of a Scudetto, Coppa Italia and the Champions League with Inter Milan during perhaps the successful spell of his career in 2010.

Under the guidance of Jose Mourinho, who called him the perfect number 10, he was arguably one of the best midfielders in world football.

"Who is my perfect number 10? Wesley Sneijder and Deco. Because they could defend, get in the box and finish goals." said Mourinho a few years back.

The Dutchman also played for Ajax, Real Madrid, Galatasaray, Nice and most recent Qatar-based club Al-Gharafa.

Topics: Football News, Football, Ajax, Holland, Real Madrid, Inter Milan

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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