A classy two-footed midfielder with a powerful shot, Wesley Sneijder was the Netherlands' leading light at UEFA EURO 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Much will be expected again in Poland and Ukraine of the playmaker who has won league titles in the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.

• Left his native Utrecht to join AFC Ajax's academy as a schoolboy; twice voted young talent of year in the Netherlands – the second time after a brilliant 2006/07 season in which he scored 18 Eredivisie goals.

• Won his first cap for the Netherlands four months after making his top-flight debut for Ajax in December 2002; leapt to prominence with a man-of-the-match performance in the UEFA EURO 2004 play-off triumph against Scotland, scoring once and setting up three other goals in a 6-0 win in Amsterdam.

• Won one Eredivisie (2004) and two Dutch Cups (2006, 2007) with Ajax before joining Real Madrid CF for €27m in August 2007; scored the winner on his Liga debut, against Club Atlético de Madrid, and also finished the season strongly as the Merengues won the league.

• Featured at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and was man of the match in the Oranje's opening two games of UEFA EURO 2008 against Italy (3-0) and France (4-1), scoring in both; selected for UEFA's Team of the Tournament.

• Left Madrid for FC Internazionale Milano in August 2009, taking the No10 shirt and rapidly endearing himself to the Nerazzurri fans; scored twice in the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League en route to a final victory against FC Bayern München in his former home stadium, the Santiago Bernabéu.

• Also won Serie A and the Coppa Italia, which was retained in 2011, in his first season in Italy; signed a two-year contract extension in October 2010, keeping him at San Siro until 2015.

• Was one of three players − along with David Villa and Thomas Müller − who scored a tournament-best five goals at the 2010 World Cup, but lost out on the top scorers' prize to the latter by virtue of assists and number of minutes played; also finished second, behind Diego Forlán, in the Golden Ball poll for the tournament's best player.

UEFA honours
UEFA EURO 2008: Team of the Tournament
UEFA Champions League: winner 2010
UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year: 2010
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year: 2010