Former Ajax and Newcastle midfielder Siem de Jong announces retirement from football | OneFootball

Siem de Jong has announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 34. De Jong currently plays in the Eerste Divisie for De Graafschap and is set to play the last game of his career against Den Bosch on Friday.

De Jong made 259 appearances for Ajax during his 16-year playing career. Over two separate spells at the Johan Cruyff Arena, the midfielder won four Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup. De Jong played 22 times in the Premier League for Newcastle United before spending a season with PSV. In 2018 he left Europe for Australia, where he played for Sydney FC and won the A-League title. De Jong has also played for FC Cincinnati in the MLS and Heerenveen.

The six-time Dutch international had considered retiring earlier in his career due to frequent injury issues. Fortunately, he’s still been able to feature 25 times this season for De Graafschap, helping them to 11th place in the second tier.

De Jong announced his retirement in a statement on social media. Along with the message, he posted an old photo of himself alongside his younger brother Luuk, who currently plays upfront for PSV. Siem de Jong’s statement read ‘The dream started 30 years ago next to Stadion De Vijverberg, when Luuk and I climbed over the fence to play football on the old training field. Tomorrow I will play my last match as a professional football player in this beautiful stadium. Thank you for that, it has been an honour.’

GBeNeFN | Hugo Hargreaves