Known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport.

During his long tenure at Bayern, Robben was also known for his fruitful partnership with fellow winger Franck Ribéry – together they were affectionately referred to by the nickname Robbery.

[19] Robben's skill in ball control and technical footwork made him a valuable player, and he was quickly signed by regional club FC Groningen.

Manager Jan van Dijk added the winger to the first team before Groningen's November 2000 away game against Twente, but he did not play until 3 December 2000 against RKC Waalwijk as a substitute for the injured Leonardo dos Santos in the 79th minute.

[21] Robben was named player of the year for his first season with the club, and with teammate Jordi Hoogstrate, he demonstrated the strength of the Groningen youth academy.

[21] Robben did not make his competitive debut for Chelsea until 23 October 2004 against Blackburn Rovers,[28] as he was injured in a pre-season friendly match against Roma, breaking a metatarsal bone in his right foot in a challenge from Olivier Dacourt.

In 28 matches, Robben contributed six goals as Chelsea won a second consecutive Premier League championship, the first back-to-back titles for the west London club.

[34] Robben made his return in a 3–0 victory against Middlesbrough in February, driving in a shot that took a deflection past Mark Schwarzer for an own goal by Abel Xavier.

Then manager Bernd Schuster is said to have demanded Michael Ballack, while Real Madrid's then president Ramón Calderón was known to favour Robben.

He made his debut on 18 September as a substitute for Raúl during a Champions League match against Werder Bremen, which Real Madrid won 2–1.

Real Madrid won the Liga title with multiple games to spare, and were already the champions of Spain when they played their arch-rivals Barcelona on 7 May 2008.

[58] On 7 April 2010, Robben sent Bayern into the semi-finals of the Champions League with a stunning volley against Manchester United from the edge of the area into the corner of the net.

[67] Robben had an extra-time penalty saved by former teammate Petr Čech in the 2012 Champions League final at the Allianz Arena against Chelsea.

[69] The match had been organised to compensate Bayern, since Robben aggravated an injury playing for the Netherlands at the 2010 World Cup, and went on to miss several months of the 2010–11 season.

Robben had played through the season as a substitute but earned his chance to start again after Kroos was injured during the Champions League tie against Juventus.

Robben atoned for his penalty missed the previous season by setting up teammate Mario Mandžukić's goal to open the scoring in the 60th minute then netting an 89th-minute winner in a 2–1 victory over Borussia Dortmund to give Bayern their fifth Champions League/European Cup title.

[81] On 4 December, Robben was substituted with a deep cut on his right knee in a 2–0 DFB-Pokal win away to FC Augsburg which prevented him from taking part in the 2013 FIFA Club World Cup.

[84] On 9 April, Robben scored Bayern's third goal in a 3–1 Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United, to secure qualification to the semi-finals.

[85] On 17 May, Robben scored Bayern's opening goal in a 2–0 extra-time defeat of Borussia Dortmund in the 2014 DFB-Pokal Final, giving him his third league and cup double in five seasons with the club.

[86] On 13 July, after winning the third-place match at the 2014 World Cup, Louis van Gaal invited Robben to follow him to Manchester United, but the latter ruled out the move.

[22][88] In Bayern's opening match of the 2014–15 Bundesliga season, Robben scored one goal and assisted the other as the team defeated VfL Wolfsburg 2–1 on 22 August 2014.

He returned to training and remained on the bench until 21 September Bundesliga match against Hertha BSC, where he came on instead of Thomas Müller and scored in the 3–0 victory.

[108] On 25 April, he had an injury within the first ten minutes of the Champions League semi-final first leg against Real Madrid, which forced him to miss the rest of the season.

[113] On 12 August, he started the season by playing in the 2018 DFL-Supercup for 58 minutes and won the title as Bayern defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory.

[120][121] On 27 June 2020, Robben announced his return to the game, signing with FC Groningen, the club he started his career with,[122] in an effort to help the team recover from COVID-19 setbacks.

[129] Robben's first participation at an international tournament came at UEFA Euro 2004 when manager Dick Advocaat called up younger players, such as Wesley Sneijder and John Heitinga.

[134][135] In the team's last friendly match against Hungary, just before its flight to South Africa on 4 June, Robben fell awkwardly and picked up a hamstring injury, causing concern over his fitness for the tournament.

In the next match, a 2–1 loss to Germany, he hopped over the advertising boards and walked the long way round after being subbed off for Dirk Kuyt because he thought he could have inspired the Netherlands to a win.

[148] In the round of 16 knock-out match with Mexico, the Netherlands won on a penalty awarded after Robben went down following a challenge from Rafael Márquez.

[164][165][166][167] In December 2011, Robben apologised for a dive against VfL Bochum in a DFB-Pokal match which earned him a yellow card, saying, "I must not do things like this.