Three days later, on 28 March 2004, he made his league debut and the first senior start of his career in a 3–1 loss against Willem II.

[8] During the 2010–11 season, Bakkal was loaned to Feyenoord, having lost any expectation of regular playing time with PSV.

[13] In March 2016, Bakkal announced he was not looking for a new club anymore after two years as a free agent, effectively retiring from football.

[15] He made his debut for the senior national side in 2009, after coming on as a substitute for Rafael van der Vaart in a friendly match against Paraguay.

[11] He played the final six minutes of the game, and it would remain his only cap, giving him the shortest career in the Netherlands national team ever.