What happened to AC Milan legend Clarence Seedorf?

Considered one of the best of his generation, Clarence Seedorf conquered the football world with his exceptional skills and impressive physical attributes. He played for several of Europe's top clubs and amassed a list of honours that many envy. This is the story of Clarence Seedorf.

Seedorf was born on 1 April 1976 in Paramaribo (Suriname), but grew up in the Netherlands.

He started playing football at the age of six and quickly demonstrated his enormous talent.

At a young age, he moved to Dutch giants Ajax, where he would soon create a furore.

In 1992, Seedorf made his Ajax debut at just 16 against Groningen.

He would soon become a key player in the team of then-Ajax manager Louis van Gaal (pictured).

His first trophies would soon follow. Seedorf won the Dutch Cup and the league in his first two seasons, but those triumphs would pale in comparison to Ajax's next success.

In the 1994/95 season, the Amsterdam club went all out in Europe, beating AC Milan in the Champions League final. The young Seedorf was at the top of European and world football.

In the summer of 1995, Seedorf ventured abroad for the first time in his career, signing for Italian club Sampdoria.

Just one year later, he signed for Real Madrid, where he would write the next chapter of his successful career.

During his time in the Spanish capital, the Dutch midfielder claimed several trophies, including the 1997/98 Champions League.

Seedorf excelled in his first seasons at Madrid, scoring a memorable long-range goal against city rivals Atlético.

Over time, Seedorf would become less prominent in the Madrid team, leading to a move to Inter Milan in January 2000.

He did not win any trophies with the Nerrazzuri and would make the sensitive leap to AC Milan in 2002 as part of an exchange deal with Francesco Coco.

At the San Siro, Seedorf would go on to write history in 2002/03, becoming the first player to win the Champions League with three clubs.

But that was only a small part of his Milan honours list, which included another Champions League, two Serie A titles and one Italian Cup, among others.

However, Seedorf's time at Milan was not entirely happy. In a match against Lazio at the end of March 2010, he was the victim of racist chanting by Lazio fans, which earned the Rome club a €15,000 fine.

In 2012, after ten years at Milan, Seedorf decided to embark on a new adventure at Brazilian club Botafogo, where he added a Carioca Campeonato title to his trophy cabinet.

It was the last achievement in the impressive club career of Seedorf, who retired in January 2014.

Besides an outstanding club career, Seedorf also had an excellent international run with the Netherlands, with some disappointments.

Perhaps the biggest disappointment came at UEFA Euro 1996, when his missed penalty against France in the quarter-finals sent the Netherlands home.

Seedorf failed to win any trophies with his country, but came close at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004, reaching the semi-finals each time.

In 2008, Seedorf made a tough decision and declared he did not want to participate in UEFA Euro 2008 because of a conflict with then-Netherlands manager Marco van Basten (pictured).

Seedorf finished his career with 87 caps and 11 goals (Transfermarkt).

Immediately after retiring in 2014, Seedorf tried his luck as a coach.

In January of the same year, he was appointed coach of AC Milan, replacing the sacked Massimiliano Allegri.

However, his first coaching adventure was not a great success, as Seedorf was sacked in June 2014 after just a couple of months in charge of the Rossoneri.

He then ventured at Chinese Shenzhen F.C. and Spanish Deportivo La Coruña, both with little success.

In August 2018, he was appointed Cameroon coach, where he would be removed after an unimpressive performance at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Seedorf spent a couple of years away from the world of football, but in 2023 he took up a new position as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Royal Dutch Football Association. In that position, he hopes to drive his country's football to new successes.