Gregory Kurtley van der Wiel (born 3 February 1988) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

Born in Amsterdam, Van der Wiel is a product of the AFC Ajax youth system. In 2010, he was awarded the Johan Cruyff Award for "Young Player of the Year" in the Netherlands. He also played for Paris Saint-Germain, Fenerbahçe, Cagliari and Toronto FC.

Van der Wiel made his debut for the Netherlands national team in February 2009 and participated in the Netherlands' runners-up performance at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Dutch teammate John Heitinga has labelled him the spiritual successor of Michael Reiziger for the Netherlands.

Club career Ajax

Van der Wiel started his playing career at RKSV DCG in Amsterdam. At age seven, the young defender was scouted by AFC Ajax and brought to the Ajax Academy at "De Toekomst". In 2002, Ajax sent the player away to HFC Haarlem due to the player having a "mentality problem". Talking about his period at Haarlem, Van der Wiel has said, "When I was there I realized how spoiled I was. At Ajax everything was always well organized. We received a new kit every season and were picked up with minivans and brought to the club. At Haarlem I arrived in a totally different world. The accommodation was much worse, we played in five-year-old outfits, and had to find our own way to the trainings. The atmosphere was better though, much more relaxed than at Ajax. The period at Haarlem was good for my social development. It was a wake-up call for me." In 2005, Ajax approached him once again and brought him back to the academy. His second stint at the club proved to be a much more successful experience, resulting in him signing his first professional contract, effectively starting from July 2006. Following the departure of youth captain Donovan Slijngard, Van der Wiel was made captain of Jong Ajax.

Van der Wiel made his professional debut for Ajax on 11 March 2007 in a 4–1 away win against Twente, coming on as a substitute for Jaap Stam. He would play three more matches that season. At the end of the 2006–07 season, Van der Wiel signed a four–year contract with the club, keeping him until 2011.

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Van der Wiel participated in the 1–0 victory over PSV in the battle for the Johan Cruyff Shield, resulting in winning his first career trophy. In a 1–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the first round of the UEFA Cup on 20 September 2007, his performance was praised by manager Henk ten Cate. A knee injury kept him out for most of the 2007–08 season.

In the 2008–09 season, Van der Wiel managed to recovered from the knee injury ahead of the new season and hoped to succeed John Heitinga, who departed for La Liga side Atlético Madrid over the summer. After returning from injury, Van der Wiel regained his first place at the club, playing in the right-back position. At one point, he played in the midfield position due to midfielder crisis. His performances resulted in him signing a contract extension with the club on 28 January 2009, lasting until 2013. He then scored his first goal for the club on 1 March 2009 in a 2–0 win over Utrecht. For his performance in the 2008–09 season, he was awarded AFC Ajax's Talent of the Year.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Van der Wiel switched shirt number from 15 to 2. His performance attracted interests from Premier League side Manchester City. On 24 January 2010, he scored his fourth goal of the season in a 1–0 win over AZ. He, once again, helped the club keep six clean sheets between 3 February 2010 and 7 March 2010. Van der Wiel played as a right–back in both legs of the 2009–10 KNVBCup final, as the club beat Feyenoord 4–2 to win the tournament. For his performances during the season, he was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award for "Young Player of the Year."

Following the 2010 World Cup, Van der Wiel was in talks to transfer to Louis van Gaal's Bayern Munich. However, Ajax was not able to agree to a deal. The 2010–11 season was another successful season for Van der Wiel, as he maintained his first-team position under new manager Frank de Boer. Despite some setbacks, Van der Wiel continued to regain his first team place at right-back. After being linked with a move to Manchester City and Barcelona in the January transfer window, he ended the transfer speculation by declaring his intention to stay at the club. In the final of the KNVB Cup against FC Twente, he started the match in the right–back and played 91 minutes before being substituted, as the club lost 3–2.

During the 2011–12 season, Van der Wiel suffered a groin injury on two occasions, which affected his season. He returned to training after two months sidelined.

Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Van der Wiel continued to be linked a move away from Ajax, and he made it clear he was not keen on signing a new contract with Ajax in January 2012. He missed the Johan Cruyff Shield, After a 5–0 win over NAC Breda on 25 August 2012, in what was his last appearance for Ajax, Van der Wiel hinted at his departure from the club. His departure became imminent after Ajax agreed to sell Van der Wiel to French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain.

Paris Saint-Germain

Van der Wiel moved to Paris Saint-Germain on 1 September 2012 for a reported €6 million transfer fee. The move was confirmed two days later, when he was issued the number 23 shirt and signed a four-year contract lasting until 2016.

Van der Wiel made his PSG debut on 22 September 2012 in an away match against Bastia, a 0–4 victory; Van der Wiel played the full 90 minutes at right-back. For the most part of his debut season in France, Van der Wiel would come off the substitutes' bench for PSG captain Christophe Jallet, the team's first-choice right-back. Van der Wiel made his European debut for Paris in the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League match against Porto, a 1–0 away loss, with Van der Wiel being substituted off for Jallet in the 66th minute. Van der Wiel scored his first PSG goal in the 0–4 away win against Toulouse, the final goal of the match. On 12 May 2013, PSG became champions of France, winning the 2013–14 Ligue 1 title in a 1–0 victory against Lyon at home, marking the club's third ever national championship. Van der Wiel remained on the substitutes' bench for the duration of the title-winning fixture.

At the start of the 2013–14 season, Van der Wiel was linked a move away from the club, as Italian Serie A club Internazionale were interested in signing him. Although a transfer never materialized, he remained at the club and found himself in competition with Christophe Jallet at right-back. As a result, Van der Wiel and Jallet often rotated in the position. Towards the end of the season, he suffered injuries on two occasions. He earned first-team status at PSG and saw him included in the L'Equipe Team of the Year for 2013.

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Van der Wiel played the entire match in the Trophée des Champions, a 2–0 PSG win over Guingamp. After Christophe Jallet's transfer to Lyon, Van der Wiel continued to feature at right-back, although he faced a new competition from new signings Serge Aurier and Jordan Ikoko, which often forced him to the substitutes' bench. By season's end, Van der Wiel helped PSG win the domestic treble: Ligue 1, Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue.

In the 2015–16 season, Van der Wiel regularly found himself on the substitutes' bench, behind Serge Aurier and Marquinhos at right-back. He also faced with his own injury concerns in the first half of the season. For the third time, he helped the club win the domestic Treble: Ligue 1, Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue.

On 15 May 2016, it was officially announced Van der Wiel would be leaving PSG at the end season after his contract expired. This was announced after he acknowledged it would be difficult to stay at the club.

Fenerbahçe After leaving Paris Saint-Germain, Van der Wiel signed for Turkish team Fenerbahçe, signing a three-year contract with an option to extend for an additional year. Upon joining the club, he was joined up by compatriot Robin van Persie.

Van der Wiel made his official debut for Fenerbahçe on 27 July 2016 in the third qualifying round of UEFA Champions League, where he set up a goal for Emmanuel Emenike in a 2–1 home win over Monaco. However, in the second-leg, the club was eliminated from the competition following a 3–1 away defeat. He then made his Fenerbahçe debut on 21 August 2016 in the opening match of the 2016–17 Süper Lig season, where he started the entire match in a 1–0 loss to İstanbul Başakşehir. His lack of first-team opportunities at the club led manager Dick Advocaat to be keen on selling him in January, although a transfer was never agreed and he remained at the club until the end of the season. For Fenerbahçe, Van der Wiel made 12 league appearances and 17 across all competitions. This was due to injuries and suspension throughout the 2016–17 season.

Cagliari After only one season with Fenerbahçe, on 25 August 2017, Van der Wiel joined Italian club Cagliari. In so doing, he became the first Dutchman to ever sign for the club. He was issued the number 2 shirt by the Sardinian side. He made his debut in a 3–2 home loss to Genoa on 15 October, having missed the first six matches of the season through injury. However, after returning from injury, he still struggled to earn playing time during the first half of the season, making only six appearances across all competitions.

Toronto FC On 1 February 2018, Van der Wiel signed with Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC. Upon joining the club, he was issued the number 9 shirt during an introductory press conference.

He made his club debut on 3 March in the opening match of the MLS season, a 2–0 home defeat to Columbus Crew. Despite suffering from setbacks that saw him on the sidelines, Van der Wiel established himself in the starting eleven for the side. He then played in both legs of 2018 CONCACAF Champions League Final against Chivas Guadalajara, as Toronto eventually lost the final 4–2 in a penalty shoot-out after the series was tied 3–3 on aggregate. During the season, Van der Wiel played in several different positions for the side, such as centre-back, left-back, and right-midfield. But most of the season, he played in the right-back position. During a preseason training session in Los Angeles on 23 January 2019, Van der Wiel was dismissed after an altercation with coach Greg Vanney. On 22 March 2019, he was released by the club by mutual consent.

On 6 August 2020, Van der Wiel began training with Eredivisie club RKC Waalwijk. Shortly after, he reiterated that he wanted to continue playing football, having been a free agent for a year. As a result, Van der Wiel spent months on a trial with the club.

International career

Youth career After previously representing the Netherlands under-19 national team, Van der Wiel has been capped at the under-21 level and participated at the 2007 Toulon Tournament.

Although he recovered from the knee injury, Van der Wiel did not make the final Dutch squad for the Olympic Games in Beijing, following which he was disappointed and critical of manager Foppe de Haan's decision. Later in 2008, Van der Wiel featured two more times for the under-21 side.

In November 2008, Van der Wiel was initially included in the Netherlands' B-team squad for their match against the Sweden national under-21 team. However, he was replaced by Rens van Eijden due to a groin injury sustained during training.

Senior career