Edwin van der Sar nominated for Premier League Hall of Fame: a look back at his impressive career

Edwin van der Sar has been nominated to be inducted into the Premier League's Hall of Fame, the Premier League revealed.  The legendary former goalkeeper could go down in history of arguably the best league in the world.

The former goalkeeper enjoyed a brilliant career, but also faced a severe setback in his personal life. A look back at Edwin van der Sar's career trajectory.

Van der Sar made his breakthrough at Ajax, where he arrived in 1990. It would be the beginning of a great period in Van der Sar's career.

Van der Sar would make 312 appearances for Ajax (Transfermarkt) and win many trophies with the club. The absolute highlight was undoubtedly the Champions League victory in the 1994/95 season.

In the summer of 1999 he was transferred to Italian top club Juventus. Ajax received €8.8 million, according to Transfermarkt, a hefty sum for a goalkeeper at the time.

Van der Sar, however, would only play two seasons for Juve. The Old Lady bought Gianluigi Buffon in 2001 and sold Van der Sar to Fulham for €10.3 million, per Transfermarkt.

At Fulham, Van der Sar caught the eye of Manchester United, which was still searching for a worthy successor to Peter Smeichel.

Van der Sar moved to Old Trafford in 2005, and would become Sir Alex Ferguson's regular man between the posts.

This was the beginning of a great partnership between the two parties. Van der Sar would help United win many trophies, including the Champions League in the 2007/08 season.

In the final against Chelsea, the Dutch goalkeeper played a starring role. He stopped Nicolas Anelka's decisive penalty kick, earning the Red Devils the Champions League.

In 2011, Van der Sar retired from professional football after 266 appearances for Manchester United, per Transfermarkt. The former goalkeeper, however, did not only excell at club level.

Van der Sar was also an important player for the Dutch national team. He made as many as 130 appearances for his country (Transfermarkt) and played at several major tournaments, including EURO 2000.

Only Wesley Sneijder earned more caps (134) for the Netherlands at present. An impressive feat from the goalkeeper.

In July 2023, Van der Sar faced a major setback. While on holiday in Croatia, Van der Sar suffered a cerebral haemorrhage, as reported by several Dutch media at the time. He was immediately transferred to the hospital's intensive care unit. His wife gave an update on her husband's condition on Twitter via Ajax – where Van der Sar was Chief Executive Officer for a couple of years after his active playing career.

"Edwin van der Sar will remain in intensive care for the time being. His condition is stable but still concerning. Ajax shares this information on behalf of Annemarie van der Sar, Edwin's wife. The Van der Sar family, along with Ajax, is grateful and deeply touched by the many messages of support," the Amsterdam club wrote on the social media platform.

Van der Sar has made a firm mark on football, but the ex-keeper was now fighting for his health. The entire football world was holding its breath and kept its fingers crossed for a full recovery.

In February 2024, Van der Sar himself gave an update about his health, speaking to the 'KieftJansenEgmondGijp' podcast. "My health is doing well, I didn’t get much damage from it, I think. But I have never spent a day in the office from 9am to 5pm. But no, I’m fine," he revealed.

Edwin van der Sar is a Dutch football legend. The former goalkeeper was at the top of club and international football for many years but was hit by tragedy in July 2023. Fortunately, however, he recovered.