Jacobus Antonius Peter Johannes "Jasper" Cillessen (born 22 April 1989) is a Dutch 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, rugby ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

for

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 ...

club

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...

and the Netherlands national team. Cillessen joined

's youth team in 2001, making his professional debut for them in 2010, and signed 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 ...

for €3 million a year later. He played in 141 matches for Ajax in six seasons, winning honours including three

titles. In 2016, he joined

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 ...

for an initial €13 million. In May 2011, Cillessen received his first call-up for the Netherlands national team. He made his international debut in 2013 and was the country's first-choice goalkeeper as they finished third at the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...

Club career

NEC

Cillessen was born in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

and grew up in nearby

Groesbeek Groesbeek () is a town and former municipality in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands. In January 2015 the former municipality merged with Millingen aan de Rijn and Ubbergen. The larger area was known as Groesbeek until January 2016, whe ...

. He began playing for the youth team of local club

De Treffers De Treffers is an amateur football club from Groesbeek, Netherlands. The club plays in the Tweede Divisie, the highest amateur league of Dutch football. History It was founded in 1919, and its first chairman was Jan Piepenbreier. De Treffers ...

before being scouted to the NEC/FC Oss youth academy in 2001. In 2008, he signed his first professional contract with NEC and started playing for the reserves. In 2010, Cillessen agreed a new two-year contract at NEC until June 2012. Following an injury to first-choice goalkeeper

Gábor Babos Gábor Babos (; born 24 October 1974) is a Hungarian football goalkeeper. He is also currently the goalkeeper coach of NAC Breda. Babos has previously played for MTK Hungária, Feyenoord and NEC before returning to NAC Breda in the summer ...

, Cillessen made his senior debut on 28 August 2010 in a 2–2 home draw against

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 Jul ...

and was voted the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. Even when Babos returned from injury, Cillessen managed to keep his spot in the first team and signed a two-year contract extension that tied him to NEC until 2014. At the end of the 2010–11 season, Cillessen was awarded

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

Footballer of the Year.

Ajax

On 27 August 2011, it was announced NEC and

had reached an agreement for the transfer of Cillessen to the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

club for an estimated €3 million. He signed a five-year contract, binding him to Ajax until 2016. Cillessen made his first appearance for Ajax on 21 September 2011, in a 2nd round

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. O ...

away match against

VV Noordwijk Voetbalvereniging Noordwijk is a Dutch football club founded in 1933, based in Noordwijk. It currently competes in the Tweede Divisie. History VV Noordwijk was founded on 4 March 1933. 1940s–1960s: Vierde, Derde, and Tweede Klasse Durin ...

. He played the full match, conceding only to Sijbren Bartlema in the 66th minute of the 3–1 away victory. He made his first league appearance for Ajax in a

2011–12 Eredivisie The 2011–12 Eredivisie is the 56th season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. It began in August 2011 with the first matches of the season and ended in June with the last matches of the European competition and relegation playoffs. ...

match on 23 October 2011 against arch-rivals

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

, coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for right back

Gregory van der Wiel Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel (born 3 February 1988) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a right-back. Born in Amsterdam, Van der Wiel is a product of the AFC Ajax youth system. In 2010, he was awarded the Johan Cruyff Award for "Young Pla ...

, after starting goalkeeper

Kenneth Vermeer Kenneth Harold Vermeer (born 10 January 1986) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, Vermeer has played for Jong Ajax, Willem II on loan, ...

had been shown a red card. With Ajax down to ten men, Cillessen helped Ajax retain a 1–1 draw after

Jan Vertonghen Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen (born 24 April 1987) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Belgian club Anderlecht and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left-back. Vertonghen began his senior car ...

tied the match just minutes after the ejection of Vermeer. Cillessen's breakthrough into the first team began during the 2013 pre-season. Manager

Frank de Boer Franciscus de Boer (; born 15 May 1970) is a Dutch football manager who was most recently the head coach of the Netherlands national team. A former defender, De Boer spent most of his professional playing career with Ajax, winning five Ered ...

said both of his two leading goalkeepers would get a chance to show why they should be his first choice. Early in that season, Cillessen made his first sustained run of appearances for Ajax in the Eredivisie.

Barcelona

On 25 August 2016, Cillessen signed a five-year contract with

for an initial €13 million transfer fee plus another €2 million in add-ons, replacing the outgoing

Claudio Bravo Claudio Andrés Bravo Muñoz (; born 13 April 1983) is a Chilean professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Real Betis and captains the Chile national team. He started playing with Colo-Colo and moved to Real Sociedad ...

. After only three training sessions, he made his debut in a home

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 Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

match against Alavés, conceding twice from five attempts in a 1–2 loss. Since his move to Barcelona in 2016, Cillessen managed to play a major role in the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

for both the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons, starting 17 of 18 matches in the competition. Barcelona won the trophy in both seasons, making the club four-time consecutive Copa del Rey winners since 2014–15. On 30 January 2019, he saved the first penalty of his professional career after 20 attempts in a 6–1 home win over

Sevilla Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

in the

, which enabled Barcelona to advanced to the semi-finals of the competition 6–3 on aggregate.

Valencia

On 25 June 2019, Cillessen signed a four-year contract with

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, for a fee of €35 million. He made his debut on 17 August 2019, starting in a 1–1 home draw against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septemb ...

in La Liga.

Return to NEC

Cillessen returned to former club

in August 2022 having agreed a three-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Valencia was reported as "several 100,000" Euro.

International career

Youth

In October 2010, Cillessen was called-up for the Netherlands national under-21 team by the national team coach,

Cor Pot Cornelis "Cor" Pot (born 8 June 1951) is a Dutch football manager and former professional footballer. Playing career Pot started his career with the academy of Sparta in Rotterdam, and subsequently moved to the Ajax academy. Coaching caree ...

, for the

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs The play-off first legs were played on 8 October 2010, while the second legs were played on 12 October 2010. Winners of play-off round and host nation Denmark will participate in the championship next year. Matches The draw took place on 10 Septem ...

against

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

Senior

After the 2010–11 season, Cillessen was placed in the pre-selection for the senior Netherlands squad's friendly matches 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 ...

and

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 ...

. Manager

Bert van Marwijk Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch football manager who was recently the head coach of the United Arab Emirates national team. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ, MVV and Fortuna Sittard amongst other clubs ...

eventually selected Cillessen for the Netherlands' friendly trip to South America. On 7 May 2012, Cillessen was named in the provisional list of 36 players for the

UEFA 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 ...

tournament, one of nine uncapped players to be chosen by Van Marwijk as part of the preliminary squad. On 7 June 2013, Cillessen obtained his first cap for the Netherlands national team under manager

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 spel ...

, after several call-ups in the past. Cillessen played the first half in a friendly encounter against

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

in a 3–0 away win for the Dutch. He was relieved in goal by

in the 46th minute, as the two helped keep a clean sheet during their friendly encounter in Asia. In June 2014, Cillessen was selected in the Netherlands' squad for the

. He was given the number 1 jersey and started in the team's opening match, a 5–1 victory against

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") , ...

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ...

. He went on to start in every match in the tournament as the ''Oranje'' took third place. However, in the quarter-final against Costa Rica, Louis van Gaal unexpectedly substituted him for Tim Krul ahead of the

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 ...

, which the Dutch team won. Cillessen was originally selected for the Dutch squad at the Euro 2020 as their starting goalkeeper. On 1 June 2021, he was omitted from the squad due to a positive COVID-19 test. He later stated that manager De Boer had known about the virus when he was first picked, and that he was fit for play.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Ajax *

: 2011–12,

2012–13 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. ...

, 2013–14 *

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 ...

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 ...

Barcelona *

: 2017–18, 2018–19 *

: 2016–17, 2017–18 *

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 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

Netherlands *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

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 wat ...

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a biennial international football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The first tournament began in September 2018. The ...

runner-up: 2018–19 Individual *Gelderland Footballer of the Year: 2011 *Gillette Player of the Year: 2014 * Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award): 2014–15, 2015–16

References

External links

FC Barcelona official profile
* * *
Jasper Cillessen
at ''

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 ...

''
Jasper Cillessen Ajax profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cillessen, Jasper 1989 births Living people Dutch footballers Dutch expatriate footballers Eredivisie players Eerste Divisie players NEC Nijmegen players AFC Ajax players Jong Ajax players La Liga players FC Barcelona players Valencia CF players People from Groesbeek Association football goalkeepers Netherlands international footballers 2014 FIFA World Cup players De Treffers players Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate footballers in Spain Footballers from Gelderland