Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Stefan de Vrij is hoping he can return to being an “important player” with Panathinaikos after calling time on his career with Inter at the end of last season.
De Vrij ended his eight-year association with Serie A giants Inter and moved to Greece at the end of last month after falling out of favour under Cristian Chivu.
The 34-year-old made 296 appearances across all competitions for the Nerazzurri, winning nine major honours which include three Serie A and three Coppa Italia crowns.
However, during Inter’s Scudetto-winning campaign in 2025-26, De Vrij only featured 20 times across all competitions and spent much of the campaign as an unused substitute.
But after joining Panathinaikos, who have not won the Greek top-flight since 2009-10, De Vrij believes he still has plenty to give at the top level despite being at the end of his career.
“My contract was expiring, and I wanted to go back to being an important player somewhere,” De Vrij said, as quoted by LaLazioSiamoNoi.
“Unfortunately, last year I didn’t play much at Inter.”
Grazie di tutto, Stefan pic.twitter.com/cgnY5Lvs3h
De Vrij also added that the appeal of the city of Athens was also key to his decision when deciding to leave Inter.
“Then I discovered this beautiful historic club that hasn’t won trophies for a long time,” De Vrij explained.
“They’re working on a very good project and have taken the right path, with a new board and a new young, modern coach. That attracted me.
“And then I was on holiday in Athens, a fantastic place. Did that holiday play a role? Yes, let’s say it was a coincidence.”
The central defender also insisted he was not thinking about retiring from international duty after the Netherlands’ exit at the World Cup to Morocco in the last 32.
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