[18] On 7 May 2006, Sneijder was in the starting line-up for Ajax in the KNVB Cup final, setting up Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's opening goal in a 2–1 win over PSV at the De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam.

[20] On 12 August 2007, Ajax agreed to sell Sneijder to Real Madrid for €27 million, according to the club's website, making him the second most expensive Dutch football player.

On 3 August 2008, Sneijder was stretchered off in a pre-season friendly at the Emirates Stadium, against Arsenal with a suspected cruciate ligament injury after a collision with Abou Diaby.

On 6 April, Sneijder scored a free kick against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League quarter-final in the sixth minute, to give Inter a 2–0 aggregate win.

[34][35] On 26 October, Sneijder was shortlisted for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or award, eventually finishing 4th which Barcelona's Lionel Messi won.

[44] Sneijder begun his third season in Inter colours in strong fashion, netting the opener with a free kick in the 2011 Supercoppa Italiana match against Milan.

[46] The Dutchman returned in action one month later, playing 66 minutes against Chievo and assisting Thiago Motta's header for a 1–0 win at home, the first of the season.

[48] Sneijder suffered another injury later in November 2011 when he damaged his right knee's rectus femoris muscle during the warm-up before the start of the match against Cagliari.

[50] The injury forced Sneijder to miss the rest of 2011, returning in the field on 15 January as a late substitute for goalscorer Diego Milito in the derby victory over Milan.

[56] Sneijder's season begun on 2 August by playing against Hajduk Split in the first leg of 2012–13 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

[60] Despite recovering from the injury, Sneijder wasn't called up in the squad, with president Massimo Moratti describing it as a "technical decision" of the coach.

[61] Sneijder left the club officially on 20 January in favour of signing with Turkey's Galatasaray, concluding his Inter spell with 116 games and 22 goals, also winning six trophies.

[62] After reportedly falling out of favour with Inter due to contract renewal issues, Sneijder agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal with Turkish giants Galatasaray on 20 January 2013 for a fee of €7.5 million.

[63] Thousands of Galatasaray fans welcomed the Dutch international at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport as soon as Sneijder's exact arrival time was announced by the club on their official website.

[75] On 7 May 2014, Sneijder played a major part in the Turkish Cup final against Eskişehirspor, scoring the only goal of the game in the 70th minute and receiving the Man of the Match award for his performance.

On 25 May, Sneijder celebrated the championship alongside Gala fans at the front yard of his residence[77] after Başakşehir drew with Fenerbahçe,[78] which brought Galatasaray the triumph.

In the home game against Fenerbahçe, which was played on matchday 6,[83] Sneijder sent out two long-range rockets in the 88th and 90th minutes, where Galatasaray claimed the victory against their bitter rivals.

During Galatasaray's 2014–15 UEFA Champions League campaign, where they were knocked out at the group stage, Sneijder scored one goal–a late free kick against Arsenal at home–and made one assist.

Sneijder began the season scoring the only goal for his team in the 35th Trofeo Santiago Bernabéu, where Galatasaray visited Real Madrid on 18 August.

[94] During his five-month stay at the club, he made 8 appearances and provided one assist to a Mario Balotelli goal in a UEFA Europa League match against Lazio.

He made his debut on 12 January 2018, captaining the team and giving an assist in the league 2–1 win over Al Ahli Doha at the Hamad bin Khalifa Stadium.

[citation needed] On 9 June 2017, he became the nation's most capped player of all-time when he made his 131st appearance in a 5–0 win over Luxembourg, surpassing the record which had previously held by Edwin van der Sar for 4002 days.

Following Giovanni van Bronckhorst's goal-line clearance and subsequent run into the Italian half, Sneijder received a headed ball from Dirk Kuyt and volleyed it with an acrobatic strike past Gianluigi Buffon.

On 13 June, he scored another goal for the Oranje in the Euro 2008 group stage match against France: in the 92nd minute, from outside the box, Sneijder struck the ball into the corner of the net, bouncing off the crossbar on its way in.

[110] In the World Cup Final, the Dutch lost to Spain 1–0 after extra time, conceding the only goal of the match after 116 minutes to Andrés Iniesta.

[114] The semi-final match against Argentina was also decided by a shootout, with Sneijder one of two Netherlands players to have his kick saved by goalkeeper Sergio Romero in a 4–2 defeat.

[115] Sneijder was originally part of the Dutch starting line-up in the bronze game against Brazil, but he was replaced by Jonathan de Guzmán after an injury during the pre-match warm-up prevented him from playing.

[119][129] During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, he was also deployed in a new role which was later described as a false-10 or central winger, due to Sneijder's tendency to drift from the centre into a wide position when in possession of the ball.

[119][128] Sneijder has been married to Dutch-Spanish actress and presenter Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen since July 2010, although the couple are no longer together; he has two sons, one of them from his first marriage.

[citation needed] Inspired by his wife and by Inter teammate Javier Zanetti, Sneijder converted to Roman Catholicism and was baptized in Milan.