Nigel de Jong (born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch former professional
footballer who played as a
defensive midfielder. He is currently the technical director of the
KNVB, the national Dutch football federation. He has also worked as an English language
pundit for
beIN Sports covering
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
and
Champions League football as well as for
ITV for
Euro 2020 and
2022 World Cup.
De Jong joined the
Ajax youth academy and made the first team at age 17. He moved in 2006 to join
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
and then joined
Manchester City in January 2009 for an estimated £18 million,
where he became an important part of their holding midfield. A tireless grafter, he garnered a reputation of being a combative and feisty player in his performances, a reputation that earned him nicknames such as ''"The Destroyer"'' and ''"Lawnmower"''. He moved to Italian side
AC Milan in August 2012, before joining
MLS side
LA Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...
in February 2016. He subsequently had spells with
Galatasaray in Turkey,
Mainz 05 in Germany, and
Al Ahli and Al-Shahania in Qatar.
De Jong made his international debut at the age of 19, and obtained 81 caps between 2004 and 2015, scoring one goal. He took part at two
European Championships and two editions of the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
with the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, winning a
World Cup runners-up medal in 2010, and a bronze medal at the
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 fr ...
.
Early and personal life
De Jong was born in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. He is of Surinamese-Dutch descent;
Surinamese parentage from his father, while
Dutch and
Indonesian from his mother. His father is former Dutch international
Jerry de Jong.
De Jong is married to Winonah, a model and fashion designer, with whom he has two children. He owns a specialist car dealership (Continental Cars) operating in Europe (Hamburg) and the Middle East.
De Jong is a
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
fan since childhood.
Club career
Ajax
On 19 October 2002, De Jong made his debut for the Ajax first team.
He scored his first goal of his senior career on 18 February 2003 in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal in the Champions League. He became a first team regular the following season, in which Ajax won the Eredivisie title.
In 2004–05, his last full season in Amsterdam, De Jong was named Ajax Player of the Season.
After a period when he appeared regularly in midfield, he found himself sitting on the bench more often than being in the starting line-up. On 7 December 2005, it was announced that De Jong did not wish to extend his contract with Ajax, which was due to end in July 2006.
Hamburg
On 26 January 2006, De Jong signed a four-and-a-half-year contract at
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
club Hamburg, the transfer fee approximately €1 million. At Hamburg he joined two other Dutchmen:
Rafael van der Vaart and
Khalid Boulahrouz. He made his Hamburg debut two days later in a 2–1 defeat at
Nürnberg
Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the largest city in Franconia, the second-largest city in the German state of Bavaria, and its 544,414 (2023) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany. ...
. In March 2006, De Jong scored the winning goal in
Bayern Munich's first ever defeat at the
Allianz Arena
Allianz Arena (; known as Munich Football Arena for UEFA competitions) is a Association football, football stadium in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, with a 70,000 seating capacity for international matches and 75,000 for domestic matches. Widely kno ...
. The following week he received the first red card of his career for a second booking in a
UEFA Cup
The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star.
Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
match against
Rapid București.
His season was cut short in April, when he required surgery on a knee problem. The injury also kept him out of the Dutch squad for the 2006 World Cup, though he was later put on standby after regaining fitness.
Manchester City

On 21 January 2009, De Jong was signed to Manchester City for an estimated fee of £18 million
by manager
Mark Hughes
Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United.
During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...
who deployed him in the role of midfield enforcer in a team whose defence badly needed reinforcement. He signed a four-and-a-half-year contract. and was assigned the number 34 shirt. He made his debut for the club against
Newcastle United on 28 January 2009. He made sixteen appearances in the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
over the second half of the season.
De Jong was given a start 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 mostly ...
on 12 September 2009. He was named Man of the Match by Sky Sports in a 2–1 win over
Chelsea on 5 December 2009. By the end of the season he had become a firm fans' favourite as well as being one of new manager
Roberto Mancini's first picks as defensive midfielder as the team narrowly missed out on a Champions League berth. De Jong scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on 1 May 2011.
De Jong was a member of the City side which won the
2010–11 FA Cup and the
2011–12 Premier League, making 137 appearances and scoring twice before being sold to
A.C. Milan in August 2012.
AC Milan
On 31 August 2012, De Jong joined Italian club
AC Milan for £3.5 million rising to £5 million depending on appearances, signing a three-year deal. On 1 September, De Jong made his debut against
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. De Jong scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–2 loss against
Lazio
Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...
on 20 October.
On 4 May 2014, De Jong scored his second goal for Milan, the winning goal against
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 Association football, football List of football ...
in the
Derby della Madonnina at the
San Siro.
On 26 June 2015, Milan announced De Jong had signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2018.
LA Galaxy
On 31 January 2016, it was reported that De Jong had negotiated to terminate his contract with Milan and joined LA Galaxy on a free transfer, signing a one-year deal. He was involved in a controversial incident in a game against the
Portland Timbers on 10 April when his strong tackle left
Darlington Nagbe injured and in need of treatment. De Jong was only shown a yellow card by referee
Allen Chapman, but was later suspended for three games. He received a red-card after a bad tackle on
Blas Perez on 5 July; although a man down, the Galaxy were still able to hold on for the win over
Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...
.
On 29 August 2016, the Galaxy announced that they and the Dutch midfielder mutually agreed to terminate de Jong's contract, freeing the 31-year-old to sign with Turkey's
Galatasaray. De Jong reportedly would have been tagged as a Designated Player for the upcoming 2017 season. He appeared in 18 regular season contests for Los Angeles, failing to record a goal or an assist in regular season play but establishing himself as a starting presence as a defensive midfielder.
Later career
On 31 August 2016, De Jong signed for Turkish outfit
Galatasaray on a two-year deal.
On 5 January 2018, De Jong's contract was terminated by Galatasaray. On the same day, he agreed a free transfer to
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
side
Mainz 05. In July 2018, De Jong moved to Qatari club
Al Ahli. A year later, he moved to
Al-Shahania in the same league.
International career
On 31 March 2004, De Jong made his debut with the Netherlands in a friendly game against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. He was overlooked for the squad that went to play in
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 association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
,
and missed the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...
with a knee injury. He was selected by
Marco van Basten
Marcel "Marco" Van Basten (; born 31 October 1964) is a Dutch former football manager and player who played as a striker for Ajax and AC Milan, as well as the Netherlands national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all t ...
to play for the ''Oranje'' at
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 association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...
. During the tournament, he was played as a "screening midfielder", partnering with
Orlando Engelaar in central midfield.
This resulted in De Jong playing three
out of the four games that saw the Netherlands reach the quarter-final stage, where they lost to
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. De Jong scored his first international goal against
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
on 6 June 2009 in a
2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match, which sealed the Netherlands' passage to the
2010 World Cup.
De Jong was part of the Dutch team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup managed by
Bert van Marwijk
Lambertus van Marwijk (; born 19 May 1952) is a Dutch Association football, football manager who is a member of the supervisory board for MVV Maastricht. As a player, he played for the Go Ahead Eagles, AZ Alkmaar, AZ, MVV Maastricht, MVV and For ...
. The player was in the starting line-up for their first match in the competition, a 2–0 victory over
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
. He was suspended in the semi-final against
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
after receiving his second yellow card of the tournament in the Netherlands' quarter-final win over
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. He played in the Final of the competition, which the Netherlands lost 1–0 to
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
after extra time. In the early stages of the match, De Jong made a chest high challenge on
Xabi Alonso
Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...
, with his studs making contact with the Spaniard's ribs. Referee
Howard Webb
Howard Melton Webb MBE (born 14 July 1971) is an English former professional football referee who officiated primarily in the Premier League from 2003 to 2014, as well as for FIFA as a FIFA international referee from 2005 to 2014.
Webb is ...
later stated that he would have sent off De Jong if he'd had a better view of the incident.
De Jong was part of the Netherlands UEFA Euro 2012 squad. The Dutch were eliminated in the first round after losing all three matches.
He was also selected for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he was in the starting line-up for all three
group matches. However, a groin injury led to his substitution in the 9th minute of the
Round of 16
A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...
match win over
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and it was later confirmed the De Jong would be unable to take any further part in the tournament. Despite this, he later recovered to play 62 minutes of the semi-final against
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, which the Netherlands lost 4–2 on a penalty shoot-out, following a 0–0 draw after extra-time.
Technical director of Dutch national football association
On 4 January 2023, he was appointed as technical director of the KNVB. The job involves overseeing the country’s national teams and De Jong will also be responsible for developing and implementing football-technical policy at clubs across the country.
Style of play
De Jong began his career as an
offensive-minded creative midfielder or
forward.
At Ajax he played a number of positions, including
central midfield and
right wing
Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...
.
De Jong credits his conversion to a
defensive-minded player to
Huub Stevens
Hubertus Jozef Margaretha "Huub" Stevens (; born 29 November 1953) is a Dutch former professional Manager (association football), football manager and player.
Playing career
Stevens was born in Sittard. While active, he played for Fortuna Sittar ...
, under whom he played at Hamburg. Described as a "tireless grafter" by ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', his work-rate and tenacity, combined with his new approach to midfield play, earned him the nicknames ''"der Rasenmäher" ("the Lawnmower")'',
"The Terrier,"
and "The Destroyer." De Jong is typically the most defensively oriented midfielder in his team. When his team's defenders are in possession of the ball, De Jong will often drop back towards them to receive it.
Sometimes De Jong is the sole holding midfielder, but often he plays alongside another defensive player, such as
Gareth Barry at Manchester City or
Mark van Bommel
Mark Peter Gertruda Andreas van Bommel (born 22 April 1977) is a Dutch Association football, football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. His FIFA World Cup profile describes him as "a tackling machine and expert ball-winner, but ...
for the Dutch national team. In addition to his defensive capabilities and ability to cover ground, De Jong was also a competent passer;
he had the highest passing completion percentage in the Premier League in the 2010–11 season out of the top 50 players (90%).
Despite his ability, and reputation as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world at his peak, De Jong has also drawn criticism over his feisty, physical, and combative playing style, including from his former Dutch national team manager
Van Marwijk.
During an international friendly on 3 March 2010, De Jong fractured the leg of Bolton Wanderers' American international
Stuart Holden as the result of a late challenge. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final he kicked Spanish player
Xabi Alonso
Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...
in the chest, a challenge for which De Jong admitted he was lucky not to have received a red card. On 3 October 2010, in a Premier League match against Newcastle United, a tackle by De Jong on
Hatem Ben Arfa resulted in the latter being carried off the pitch with a double fracture of his left tibia and fibula. De Jong was later dropped from the Dutch national team by his coach Van Marwijk for an unspecified period of time, but was later reprieved.
During his time at Manchester City, however, De Jong was never shown a red card.
Indeed, despite his reputation as an aggressive and hard-tackling player,
De Jong's first official direct card of his career came with Milan, in a 1–1 away draw against Verona in Serie A on 13 December 2015; previously, he had only been sent off once in an official game, namely for two bookable offences in a match for Hamburg against Rapid Bucharest in the 2005–06 edition of the UEFA Cup, while his only direct red card had come against Werder Bremen, in the semi-finals of the 2006 DFL-Ligapokal.
In April 2016 while playing for the LA Galaxy De Jong was involved in another controversial incident when a strong takedown led to Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe being removed from the field with an injury. The tackle led to a 3-game suspension for De Jong after the disciplinary committee determined the action to have been, "a clear and unequivocal red card."
In December 2013, Spanish football website ''El Gol Digital'' ranked De Jong tenth in its list of the world's dirtiest footballers. This style of play earned him a title as the most violent footballer in the world, according to French newspaper ''
L'Équipe
''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...
''.
Sponsorship
In January 2012, De Jong signed a four-year deal with
football boot
Football boots, also referred to as cleats or soccer shoes in North America, are specialized footwear designed for use in association football.
Those designed for grass Association football pitch, pitches have cleat (shoe), studs on the outsole ...
brand
Puma.
Career statistics
Club
International
''Scores list Netherlands' tally first.''
Honours
Ajax
*
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...
:
2003–04
*
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 footbal ...
:
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
Manchester City
*
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
:
2011–12
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...
:
2010–11
*
FA Community Shield
The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is Football in England, English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA ...
:
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
Netherlands
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
runner-up:
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
; third place:
2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
Individual
*
Ajax Player of the Year (Rinus Michels Award):
2004–05
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jong, Nigel de
1984 births
Living people
Indo people
Dutch sportspeople of Surinamese descent
Dutch people of Indonesian descent
Dutch people of Moluccan descent
Sportspeople of Indonesian descent
Footballers from Amsterdam
Dutch men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
AFC Ajax players
Hamburger SV players
Manchester City F.C. players
AC Milan players
LA Galaxy players
Galatasaray S.K. footballers
1. FSV Mainz 05 players
Al Ahli SC (Doha) players
Al Shahaniya SC players
Eredivisie players
Bundesliga players
Premier League players
Serie A players
Major League Soccer players
Süper Lig players
Qatar Stars League players
Qatari Second Division players
Netherlands men's under-21 international footballers
Netherlands men's international footballers
UEFA Euro 2008 players
2010 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 2012 players
2014 FIFA World Cup players
Dutch expatriate men's footballers
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in England
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
Dutch expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
Expatriate men's footballers in England
Expatriate men's footballers in Italy
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
Expatriate men's footballers in Qatar
Association football technical directors