Wesley Sneijder ready to start training ahead of comeback… less than a year after retiring

Wesley Sneijder is reportedly working on getting back to fitness in the hope of coming out of retirement to feature for his hometown club.

The 36-year-old retired last year having ended his career after a short spell in the Middle East with Al-Gharafa.

But according to RTV Utrecht, the former midfielder is set to kickstart his career, starting by training with Dutch side DHSC.

Wesley Sneijder is looking to come out of retirement after hanging up his boots in 2019 following a glittering career that included winning the Champions League with Inter Milan

Before joining Inter, Sneijder had previously featured in midfield for Real Madrid

The ex-Real Madrid and Inter Milan star will build up his fitness at the fifth tier outfit with a view to returning to the Dutch top flight with Utrecht.

Utrecht have admitted holding talks with Sneijder who has been watching their matches since hanging up his boots.

The club’s technical director Jordy Zuidam has confirmed that they have offered Sneijder a deal to play for them.

After a year at Al Gharafa in the Middle East, Sneijder retired from the game in 2019

He said: ‘We have talked about his possible return; it is up to him. Now he has time to decide if he likes the idea, but a Sneijder in good shape can be interesting.’

The 36-year-old has been coy on comeback talks, saying: ‘I have spoken to Jordy about the matter and I am going to think about it.’ 

Although Sneijder was born in Utrecht he was part of the Ajax academy from the age of seven, before breaking into the first team and becoming one of Europe’s most sought after stars, moving to Real Madrid in 2007 and then to Inter a couple of years later.

But the Dutchman has since turned his sights towards a return with hometown club Utrecht

He was pivotal under Jose Mourinho as part of Inter Milan’s treble winners in 2010, and was integral to a Dutch side that reached the World Cup final in South Africa the same year.

With 134 appearances for Holland between 2003 and 2018, he remains the nation’s most capped player.

Despite heavy links of a switch to Manchester United, a move to the Premier League never materialised and after leaving the San Siro in 2013 he wound down his career in Europe at Galatasaray and Nice.

Sneijder is now set to follow his former Holland team-mate Arjen Robben out of retirement, with the Bayern Munich legend aged 36 ready to feature again for hometown club Groningen where he started his career.

The 36-year-old is Holland’s record appearance holder with 134 caps and was inspirational towards their march to the 2010 World Cup final where they were defeated by Spain