He then played for Kasımpaşa, Beşiktaş and Galatasaray in Turkey, Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates, Deportivo La Coruña and brief returns to the Premier League with Fulham and a loan to Ajax.

[2] Inspired by the local footballing talent, including Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, Babel played for nearby youth-teams S.V Diemen, then Fortius.

[6] Playing as a striker, on 1 February 2004, just one and a half months after his 17th birthday, Babel made his first-team debut in Ajax's 4–0 home win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.

He started the new season by scoring the winning goal in Ajax's 2–1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven in the Johan Cruyff Shield.

Babel scored in both legs of the Champions League third qualifying round against Brøndby as Ajax made it to the group stage.

[citation needed] Babel marked the start of 2006–07 with another Johan Cruyff Shield medal, as Ajax defeated PSV 3–1.

[17] Babel scored the fourth and last goal in Liverpool's 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage match against Olympique de Marseille, which they needed to win.

[18] He came off the bench in the second leg of the quarter-final against Arsenal in the Champions League and won a penalty and scored a goal, with Liverpool winning the game 4–2 (5–3 on aggregate).

[20] Former Liverpool and Celtic player Kenny Dalglish has said that Babel has the ability to terrorise defenders in the Premier League with his pace and trickery with the ball.

[23] On 20 September 2009, with the score 2–2 against West Ham, Babel came off the bench for Dirk Kuyt, setting up an assist for Fernando Torres to head home the winner.

Babel, who has been criticised in the past for his work rate and attitude, earned praise for his efforts in the West Ham game.

[24] On 27 September 2009, Babel scored two goals against Hull City coming off the bench for Fernando Torres to round up a match which ended 6–1 for Liverpool.

[27] Babel was then disciplined by manager Benitez, over stating on his Twitter page that he had been dropped for the game against Stoke City, and was fined two weeks wages of £120,000.

[34] On 25 January 2011, it was confirmed that Babel had left Liverpool to join German side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for a reported fee of £8 million, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.

He came on as a substitute for Derk Boerrigter in the second half, assisting Jody Lukoki on the second goal in the 2–0 home win for the Amsterdam side.

He was joined in Turkey by fellow Amsterdam-born defender Ryan Donk who made the transfer from Belgian side Club Brugge.

[41] Babel signed a contract with UAE Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain to replace the outgoing Miroslav Stoch.

[43] On 22 December, after three goals in the last four games helped Depor out of the relegation zone, he said that he would allow his contract to expire due to overseas offers that would be more convenient to his family.

Due to a knee injury however,[54] Babel only featured once, as a second-half substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the group match against Argentina.

In the group stage, Babel scored a penalty against Portugal, helping the Dutch to secure a semi-final spot and thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

[58] On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition.

[citation needed] Babel returned in Oranje after an absence of almost a year on 11 November 2011 as a starter in the pre Euro 2012 0–0 drawn friendly against Switzerland.

[60] On 29 September 2017, Babel was recalled to the Oranje squad after a six-year absence for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Sweden and Belarus.

[61] The Netherlands failed to qualify for the tournament; despite this, Babel was regularly called up for the upcoming inaugural UEFA Nations League campaign.