# Gregory van der Wiel
**Gregory van der Wiel** (born 1988 in Amsterdam) is a retired Dutch footballer who played as a right back, winning the [Eredivisie](https://www.edgepedia.org/eredivisie) and [KNVB Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/knvb-cup) with Ajax, four consecutive [Ligue 1](https://www.edgepedia.org/ligue-1) titles with Paris Saint-Germain, and 46 caps for the Netherlands, including a start in the 2010 World Cup final.[1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) • [2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Amsterdam, Netherlands[1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) |
| Position | Right back, also used at center back; height listed at 1.83 m[1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) |
| Clubs | Ajax (2007–12), Paris Saint-Germain (2012–16), Fenerbahçe (2016–17), Cagliari (2017–18), Toronto FC (2018–19)[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) • [3](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289) |
| Netherlands | 46 caps; runner-up at the 2010 World Cup and a squad member at UEFA Euro 2012[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) |
| Trophies | 16 titles across his career, including four straight Ligue 1 titles with PSG[4](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Le-message-fort-de-l-ancien-joueur-professionnel-gregory-van-der-wiel-passe-notamment-par-le-psg-le-football-est-une-prison/1640682) • [1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) |
| PSG transfer | September 2012, fee £6,000,000; 132 appearances in Paris[3](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289) • [2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) |
| Retirement | Final retirement announced in October 2021 at age 33, after a comeback attempt at RKC Waalwijk in which he played no match[5](https://nos.nl/artikel/2567087-na-mentale-strijd-wil-van-der-wiel-anderen-helpen-oke-om-je-niet-goed-te-voelen) |
## Ajax
Van der Wiel came up through the Ajax academy and graduated to the first team in 2007.[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) His first-team debut came in a 4–2 match against NEC on 18 January 2009, and he was named Ajax's Talent of the Year in the season before the 2010–11 Champions League campaign.[6](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/ITT/uefaorg/General/01/53/55/89/1535589_DOWNLOAD.pdf) By age 21 he was a regular starter for Ajax and a Netherlands international.[7](https://www.proprof.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/magazine22.pdf)
Over seven seasons with the club he made 191 appearances in all competitions, recording 12 goals and 17 assists.[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) In that period Ajax won two league titles, two Dutch Cups, and one Dutch Super Cup.[1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html)
## Paris Saint-Germain
He moved to Paris Saint-Germain on 2 September 2012 for a reported fee of £6,000,000.[3](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289) Across four seasons he made 132 appearances, with four goals and 22 assists, as PSG won four consecutive Ligue 1 titles.[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) The club's trophy haul in his years there also included three French Super Cups, two French Cups, and three League Cups.[1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) Soccerbase records 79 league appearances and 4 league goals in the PSG years.[3](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289)
## Fenerbahçe, Cagliari, and Toronto FC
After his PSG contract expired in 2016 he joined Fenerbahçe in Turkey, where he made 17 appearances and supplied one assist. He described his time there bluntly: "I lost my pleasure for the game. I needed to leave Turkey to play football again."[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) • [9](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/world-cup-veteran-gregory-van-der-wiel-excited-join-winning-culture-toronto-fc) A move to [Serie A](https://www.edgepedia.org/serie-a) side Cagliari in August 2017 followed, but he arrived injured and, once fit, spent ten consecutive matches on the bench after a coaching change; he made five Serie A appearances in all.[3](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289) • [9](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/world-cup-veteran-gregory-van-der-wiel-excited-join-winning-culture-toronto-fc) • [2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel)
**Toronto FC.** On 1 February 2018, [Toronto FC](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-fc) signed him on a transfer from Cagliari, using Targeted Allocation Money, to replace the departed Steven Beitashour at right back.[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) • [9](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/world-cup-veteran-gregory-van-der-wiel-excited-join-winning-culture-toronto-fc) He was presented with the number 9 shirt, unusual for a defender, and Toronto general manager Tim Bezbatchenko called him "a winner" with "a great defensive sense."
His single season in Canada was eventful. Toronto's injury crisis often pushed him into a center back role instead of his preferred fullback position, and the club failed to qualify for the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs a year after winning the title.[10](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/gregory-van-der-wiel-set-depart-toronto-fc-after-falling-out-vanney) He made 27 league appearances, 25 of them starts, with four assists, and played six games in Toronto's run to the Concacaf Champions League final; the club counts 34 combined appearances with four assists across MLS, the Champions League, and the Campeones Cup.[10](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/gregory-van-der-wiel-set-depart-toronto-fc-after-falling-out-vanney) • [11](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/toronto-fc-van-der-wiel-part-ways-mutual-consent)
The partnership ended acrimoniously. In January 2019 he was sent home from Toronto's preseason camp in California after a reported altercation with head coach Greg Vanney, and he announced his departure in an Instagram post citing "differences with the coaching staff."[10](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/gregory-van-der-wiel-set-depart-toronto-fc-after-falling-out-vanney) On 6 March 2019 the club and the player formally agreed to part ways by mutual consent; GM Ali Curtis thanked him for his contributions.[11](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/toronto-fc-van-der-wiel-part-ways-mutual-consent)
## Netherlands
Van der Wiel earned 46 caps for the Dutch national team over a national-team career spanning 6 years and 207 days.[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel) • [12](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/vdwiel-intl.html) He started all five of the Netherlands' matches at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, including the final against Spain, which the Dutch lost.[6](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/ITT/uefaorg/General/01/53/55/89/1535589_DOWNLOAD.pdf) • [1](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html) He was also in the squad for [UEFA Euro 2012](https://www.edgepedia.org/uefa-euro-2012).[2](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel)
## Life after football
After leaving Toronto, van der Wiel spent about two months without a club and relocated to Los Angeles.[13](https://as.com/us/2019/03/30/futbol/1553973160_059226.html) He attempted a comeback in the Netherlands with [RKC Waalwijk](https://www.edgepedia.org/rkc-waalwijk), but panic attacks and depression meant he never played a competitive match for the club, and in October 2021, at age 33, he retired for good.[5](https://nos.nl/artikel/2567087-na-mentale-strijd-wil-van-der-wiel-anderen-helpen-oke-om-je-niet-goed-te-voelen)
**Mental health advocacy.** In his own account, his first panic attack came less than six months after he unexpectedly retired; he could not leave his bed for longer than ten minutes for years, and he detached entirely from football, which he describes as having felt like trauma.[14](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gvanderwiel_i-wanted-to-share-some-positive-personal-activity-7469644659183652864-KCXv) In a 2025 NOS interview he said he had hidden disappointments and emotions throughout his playing career, building "a wall," and that the problems hit him "like a bomb" after it ended.[5](https://nos.nl/artikel/2567087-na-mentale-strijd-wil-van-der-wiel-anderen-helpen-oke-om-je-niet-goed-te-voelen) In a 2026 interview with L'Équipe he said of that career: "Football is a prison. I didn't enjoy a single moment of it. I won 16 trophies, and I felt completely alone."
He has since rebuilt around the subject. He studied mental health extensively, works as a mental and performance coach, shares content under his Champions Mindset brand, became an ambassador for Paris Saint-Germain, and lives in Dubai with his family.[5](https://nos.nl/artikel/2567087-na-mentale-strijd-wil-van-der-wiel-anderen-helpen-oke-om-je-niet-goed-te-voelen) • [4](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Le-message-fort-de-l-ancien-joueur-professionnel-gregory-van-der-wiel-passe-notamment-par-le-psg-le-football-est-une-prison/1640682) • [8](https://www.ajax.nl/artikelen/ajax-podcast-14-minuten-met-gregory-van-der-wiel)
## References
1. [¿Qué fue de Gregory van der Wiel, holandés ex del PSG?, AS (2021)](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/09/futbol/1610147129_020624.html)
2. [Toronto FC sign Dutch international defender Gregory van der Wiel, MLSsoccer.com (2018)](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/toronto-fc-sign-dutch-international-defender-gregory-van-der-wiel)
3. [Gregory van der Wiel, career record, Soccerbase](https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=51289)
4. [Le message fort de l'ancien joueur professionnel Gregory Van der Wiel : « Le football est une prison », L'Équipe (2026)](https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Le-message-fort-de-l-ancien-joueur-professionnel-gregory-van-der-wiel-passe-notamment-par-le-psg-le-football-est-une-prison/1640682)
5. [Na mentale strijd wil Van der Wiel anderen helpen, NOS (2025)](https://nos.nl/artikel/2567087-na-mentale-strijd-wil-van-der-wiel-anderen-helpen-oke-om-je-niet-goed-te-voelen)
6. [2010/11 UEFA Champions League group stage statistics handbook, UEFA](https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/ITT/uefaorg/General/01/53/55/89/1535589_DOWNLOAD.pdf)
7. [ProProf magazine 22 (2011)](https://www.proprof.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/magazine22.pdf)
8. [14 minuten met... Gregory van der Wiel, AFC Ajax](https://www.ajax.nl/artikelen/ajax-podcast-14-minuten-met-gregory-van-der-wiel)
9. [World Cup veteran Gregory van der Wiel excited to join winning culture at Toronto FC, Toronto FC](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/world-cup-veteran-gregory-van-der-wiel-excited-join-winning-culture-toronto-fc)
10. [Gregory van der Wiel set to depart Toronto FC after falling-out with Vanney, MLSsoccer.com (2019)](https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/gregory-van-der-wiel-set-depart-toronto-fc-after-falling-out-vanney)
11. [Toronto FC, van der Wiel Part Ways by Mutual Consent, Toronto FC (2019)](https://www.torontofc.ca/news/toronto-fc-van-der-wiel-part-ways-mutual-consent)
12. [Gregory van der Wiel – International Appearances, RSSSF](https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/vdwiel-intl.html)
13. [Gregory Van der Wiel tiene claro que su futuro está en Los Ángeles, AS (2019)](https://as.com/us/2019/03/30/futbol/1553973160_059226.html)
14. [Gregory Van der Wiel, LinkedIn post on retirement and panic attacks](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gvanderwiel_i-wanted-to-share-some-positive-personal-activity-7469644659183652864-KCXv)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of continental Europe › Dutch footballers › Dutch footballers born since 1985*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license