Donny van de Beek is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Netherlands national team.
Born in Nijkerkerveen, van de Beek joined the Ajax academy in 2008. In 2015, he made his competitive debut for the club in a Europa League match against Scottish club Celtic. In the 2016–17 season, Ajax progressed to the UEFA Europa League Final, but lost to Manchester United. During the 2017–18 season, Van de Beek established himself as a key play in Ajax's starting eleven. Following the 2018–19 campaign, in which Ajax reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, Van de Beek was listed among the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. With Ajax, he won the Eredivisie title, KNVB Cup and Johan Cruyff Shield.
On 30 August 2020, Ajax reached an agreement with English Premier League club Manchester United for the transfer of Van de Beek. The transfer was completed three days later with Van de Beek signing a five-year contract for a reported £35 million plus £5 million in add-ons. Van de Beek chose to wear the number 34 jersey as a tribute to former Ajax teammate Abdelhak Nouri, who collapsed during a friendly in 2017 and went into an induced coma. Van de Beek made his United debut in a friendly against Aston Villa on 12 September, before making his competitive debut as a substitute in the club's opening Premier League fixture at home to Crystal Palace on 19 September; he scored United's only goal in a 3–1 defeat.
On 11 September 2013, Van de Beek made his debut for the Netherlands under-17 team against Germany. He was part of the squad that managed to reach the final of the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship after defeating Scotland in the semi-final. However, they finished runners-up to England.
On 14 November 2017, Van de Beek made his senior international debut against Romania in a friendly match. He appeared in both games in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals as a substitute, as the Netherlands defeated England 3–1 but lost to Portugal in the final 1–0. He scored his first international goal on 14 October 2020 in a 1–1 away draw against Italy in the UEFA Nations League.
On 8 June 2021, Van De Beek was forced to withdraw from the Netherlands' squad for the Euro 2020 campaign just days before the tournament gets under way. It was disclosed by the Dutch FA that Van de Beek was battling through injury and as a result, he trained away from the main squad. It has now been confirmed that he cannot recover in time and will withdraw from the Netherlands' squad entirely. |
