Mike Kleijn (born 9 February 2005) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club Sparta Rotterdam.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 February 2005 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Breda, Netherlands | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Sparta Rotterdam | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| Baronie | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2024 | Feyenoord | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Sparta Rotterdam | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Netherlands U15 | 5 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Netherlands U17 | 16 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Netherlands U18 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Netherlands U19 | 3 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 1 July 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 26 March 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
Professional career
editKleijn began playing football with the youth side of Baronie, and moved to Feyenoord's youth academy at the age of 6 in 2011.[1] He worked his way up their youth sides, eventually captaining the U18s, and signed his first professional contract with them on 2 November 2020.[2] In September 2022, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2005 worldwide.[3]
In his time with Feyenoord, Kleijn was included in the senior team's matchday squad only once, on 17 March 2022 in a Conference League game against Partizan, he remained on the bench in that game.[4]
On 12 April 2024, Kleijn signed a four-year contract with Sparta Rotterdam, beginning in the 2024–25 season.[5]
International career
editKleijn is a youth international for the Netherlands, and captained the Netherlands U17s at the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.[6]
References
edit- ^ Theunis, Jeroen (2021-11-12). "Bredanaar Mike Kleijn (16) is een 'stille leider' bij Feyenoord, maar laat zijn voeten altijd spreken". BN DeStem (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-11-05.
- ^ "Mike Kleijn tekent contract bij Feyenoord |". November 2, 2020.
- ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (28 September 2022). "Next Generation 2022: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Feyenoord v Partizan game report". UEFA. 17 March 2022.
- ^ "SPARTA LEGT JEUGDINTERNATIONAL MIKE KLEIJN VAST" [SPARTA SIGNS YOUTH INTERNATIONAL MIKE KLEIJN] (in Dutch). Sparta Rotterdam. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Definitieve selectie Onder 17 voor EK in Israël". www.onsoranje.nl.
External links
edit- Mike Kleijn at Soccerway
- Mike Kleijn at BDFutbol
- Ons Oranje O15 profile
- Ons Oranje O17 profile