Nigel de Jong

**Nigel de Jong** (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈnɑiɟəl də ˈjɔŋ]; born 30 November 1984) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Qatar Stars League club Al Ahli. He joined the Ajax youth academy

 as a youngster and worked his way through the ranks to make the first
team at age 17. Two years later, in 2004, he made his international
debut. Additionally, in 2010 he won a World Cup runners-up medal.

De Jong moved on from Ajax in 2006 to join Hamburg in search of
first team football and then moved to Manchester City in January 2009
for an estimated £18 million,[2]
 where he became an important part of City's holding midfield. A
tireless grafter, he has garnered a reputation of being a combative and
feisty player in his performances, a reputation that has earned him
nicknames such as *"The Destroyer"* and *"Lawnmower"*.[3][4] He moved to Italian side Milan in August 2012 where he spent three and half years, before moving to LA Galaxy in February 2016.

## Club career

### Ajax

On 19 October 2002, De Jong made his debut for the Ajax first team.[5] He scored his first goal of his senior career on 18 February 2003 in a 1–1 draw against Arsenal in the Champions League.[6] He became a first team regular the following season, in which Ajax won the Eredivisie title.[7] In 2004–05, his last full season in Amsterdam, De Jong was named Ajax Player of the Season.[7]
 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,[8] which was due to end in July 2006.[9]

De Jong made 126 official appearances for Ajax

### Hamburg

On 26 January 2006, De Jong signed a four and a half-year contract at Bundesliga club Hamburg, the transfer fee approximately €1 million.[10] 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.[11] In March 2006, De Jong scored the winning goal in Bayern Munich's first ever defeat at the Allianz Arena.[12] The following week he received the first red card of his career for a second booking in a UEFA Cup match against Rapid Bucureşti.[13] His season was cut short in April, when he required surgery on a knee problem.[14]
 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.[15]

### Manchester City

De Jong (far right) with Manchester City teammates.

On 21 January 2009, De Jong was signed to Manchester City for an estimated fee of £18 million[2] by manager Mark Hughes
 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.[16] and was assigned the number 34 shirt. He made his debut for the club against Newcastle United on 28 January 2009.[17] He made sixteen appearances in the Premier League over the second half of the season.

De Jong was given a start against Arsenal on 12 September 2009.[18] He was named Man of the Match by Sky Sports in a 2–1 win over Chelsea on 5 December 2009.[19] 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.[20] De Jong scored his first goal for Manchester City in a 2–1 victory against West Ham United on 1 May 2011.[21]

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.

### Milan

On 31
August 2012, De Jong joined Italian side Milan for £3.5 million rising
to £5 million depending on appearances, signing a three-year deal.[22][23]
On 1 September 2012, De Jong made his debut against Bologna. De Jong scored his first goal for Milan in a 3–2 loss against Lazio on 20 October 2012.

On 4 May 2014, De Jong scored his second goal for Milan, the winning goal against Internazionale in the Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro.[24]

On 26 June 2015, Milan announced De Jong had signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2018.[25]

### 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.[26] De Jong was involved in a controversial incident in a game against the Portland Timbers on 10 April 2016 when a strong tackle by De Jong 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.[27] De Jong received a red-card after a bad tackle on Blas Perez on 5 July 2016, although with a man down, the Galaxy was still able to hold on for the win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.[28]

On 29 August, 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.[29]

According to the Turkish club, there was no transfer fee involved
 in the trade agreement. 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 an
assist in regular season play but establishing himself as a starting
presence as a defensive midfielder.[30]

### Galatasaray

On 31 August 2016, De Jong signed for Turkish outfit Galatasaray on a two-year deal.[*citation needed*]
On 5 January 2018, his contract was terminated by the Turkish club.[31]

### Mainz 05

On 5 January 2018, De Jong agreed a free transfer to Bundesliga side Mainz 05.[32]