Thomas Vermaelen

Early career

Born in Kapellen, Belgium, Vermaelen started his youth career in his home country with Germinal Ekeren, which later became Germinal Beerschot after a merger.

Ajax

Vermaelen joined the academy of Dutch club Ajax. He made his professional debut on 15 February 2004 in a 0–2 away win over FC Volendam. His breakthrough came when he returned to Ajax and won the KNVB Cup. Performances that season resulted in a call-up to the Belgium national football team. Ajax won the Johan Cruyff Shield and another KNVB Cup the following season and in 2007, they won the Johan Cruyff Shield for the second consecutive time. He forged a partnership with fellow academy graduate John Heitinga and later Jan Vertonghen when Heitinga left for Atlético Madrid in Spain. Following the departure of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar in mid-season, Vermaelen served as captain of Ajax for the remainder of the 2008–09 season, where he mostly played as a left-back.

Arsenal

2009–10 season

Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax for an initial fee of €10 million (rising to €12 million) on 19 June 2009, signing a four-year contract. After Kolo Touré surrendered the number 5 jersey to him upon joining Manchester City, Vermaelen, with William Gallas, formed Arsenal's central defence pairing. Vermaelen made his Premier League debut on 15 August 2009 in a 1–6 away win against Everton, and scored in the 37th minute. He became the 84th Arsenal player to score in their debut. He then…

A former youth international, Vermaelen had participated in the U-19 Championships and the 2007 U-21 European Championships. He made his senior debut for Belgium at age 20 against Luxembourg in March 2006. On 8 October 2009, he was named Belgium captain prior to the games against Turkey and Estonia in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, but could not prevent the Belgians from finishing fourth in their group. He was recalled to squad for 14 November friendly against Hungary and scored his first goal for his country by tapping in an Eden Hazard cross. On 13 May 2014, Vermaelen was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 World Cup. After spending Belgium's first match of the tournament, a 2–1 win against Algeria, on the substitutes' bench, Vermaelen was chosen to start in the second match against Russia, replacing former Ajax teammate Jan Vertonghen at left-back. However, after 31 minutes, Vermaelen was taken off with an injury and replaced by Vertonghen. He also made the squads for UEFA Euro 2016, the 2018 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2021.

Club

International

Belgium score listed first, score column indicates score after each Vermaelen goal

In 2012, Vermaelen began dating English glamour model and TV presenter Polly Parsons. The couple have two sons, Raff and Ace. The couple married in June 2017.