Ibrahim Afellay (Arabic: إبراهيم أفيلاي; born 2 April 1986) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or winger. He currently works for Dutch broadcaster NOS as a football pundit.
He played youth football at Elinkwijk before joining the PSV Eindhoven youth academy at age 10. After debuting in 2004, he represented PSV for eight seasons, helping them to four Eredivisie titles before moving to Barcelona for €3 million in January 2011. Rarely used by Barcelona and marred by injury, he was loaned to Schalke 04 and Olympiacos before signing for Stoke City in 2015. Afellay spent three seasons with Stoke before ending his career back at PSV.
Making his Netherlands national team debut in 2007, Afellay appeared at the 2010 World Cup, contributing to the Dutch side finishing in second place in the tournament. He was also present at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, making over 50 appearances in total.
Afellay is of Moroccan Riffian descent; his parents left their hometown Al Hoceima in the 1960s to work in the Netherlands. He grew up in Overvecht, a neighbourhood in Utrecht with a large immigrant population. Afellay and his brother, Ali, were brought up by their mother, Habiba, after his father died when he was young.
Afellay started to play football at local side VSK, but joined USV Elinkwijk after one season.
Afellay left Elinkwijk in 1996 for PSV. Afellay's official debut for PSV was on 4 February 2004 during a KNVB Cup match against NAC Breda at the age of 17. His first Eredivisie fixture followed ten days later against FC Twente. Afellay played one more senior match in the 2003–04 season. He signed a new contract at PSV in May that would run until 2007. In the next season, Afellay got a place in the first eleven against Roda JC in December. But during the winter break training camp in Dubai, he suffered a broken toe. Afellay was unable to play for three months. He played nine matches in total in the 2004–05 season; his most memorable being PSV's final home match against Feyenoord (2–4). Afellay scored twice and provided an assist in the match. He also won the KNVB Cup after appearing as a substitute in the final against Willem II, which PSV won 4–0.
In the 2005–06 season, Afellay established himself as a first-team regular at PSV. He formed a midfield partnership with Timmy Simons and Phillip Cocu. In his first four matches (Johan Cruijff Shield and league), Afellay received four yellow cards, resulting in an immediate suspension. In September, Afellay made his Champions League debut against Schalke 04 (1–0 win). Overall, he managed to play a total of 23 league matches during a season hit with a string of minor injuries. PSV won the Eredivisie in 2006; Afellay's second title in a row. In the next season, he played 27 league matches and scored six goals for PSV. The team won the Eredivisie on a single goal difference after defeating Vitesse (5–1) in the last league round. Afellay made the third goal of the match. For his performances that year, Afellay was awarded the Johan Cruijff Award for being the most promising youngster in The Netherlands.
Afellay started the 2007–08 season well by scoring the first goal and assisted the second in the away match against Heracles Almelo (0–2). A month later, a broken toe forced Afellay into a two-month recovery. He extended his contract until 2011 in December. Afellay played 24 Eredivisie matches in the 2007–08 season. He missed second-to-final match against FC Twente in which PSV could seal the championship, but the team failed to do so. The league title was eventually won in the last match against Vitesse with Afellay in the team. The start of the 2008–09 season was troublesome for Afellay when he received less holiday then desired after Euro 2008. His season started well though, with the Johan Cruyff Shield victory against Feyenoord (0–2) and three goals in the opening two Eredivisie matches. Afellay scored 13 league goals in total, including the only goal in the home match against Feyenoord in December. The 2008–09 season, in which PSV finished fourth, ended prematurely after he suffered an injury in April.
For the 2009–10 season, Afellay shifted to a more defensive midfield position under new coach Fred Rutten. In February, Afellay was promoted to second captain of the team. But because first captain Timmy Simons was mostly on the bench that season, Afellay was effectively the new captain. In March, Afellay received a three-match ban after video evidence showed foul play against Eyong Enoh in the match against Ajax. PSV and Afellay ended the Eredivisie season in third. In the summer, he was officially appointed as team captain. In October, Afellay announced he would not sign a new contract with PSV. With the contract nearing its end, PSV was willing to sell in the winter break. On 15 November, it was FC Barcelona who agreed on a deal with PSV. Afellay signed a contract for four and a half years. In his last PSV match against Roda JC, he was granted a farewell by the fans.
After completing the €3 million transfer, Afellay signed a contract for four and a half years at FC Barcelona. He made his Blaugrana debut on 5 January 2011 in the Copa del Rey match against Athletic Bilbao, replacing David Villa in injury time. He continued to play 28 Barcelona matches in his first season, of which 18 were as a substitute. Afellay was given his first start on 19 January 2011 against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey. His first goal also occurred in the Copa del Rey against UD Almería in February. Afellay scored his first league goal in a 3–1 away win against Málaga CF on the last day of the season. The 2010–11 season ended in the title win for Barcelona and the fifth league championship for Afellay overall. He made his Champions League debut for Barcelona against Arsenal and also went on to appear in the quarter-finals against Shakhtar Donetsk. He then played a vital role in the first match of the semi-finals against archrivals Real Madrid by coming on as a late substitute, dribbling past Marcelo into the box and assisting Lionel Messi for Barcelona's crucial opening goal in their 2–0 away victory. Afellay and Barcelona eventually won the Champions League after beating Manchester United (3–1). Afellay came on in the 90th minute of the final.
Afellay had a minor hamstring injury in the 2011–12 pre-season, therefore missing out on the Supercopa de España matches against Real Madrid. He returned in time for one Champions League and one La Liga match before suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury during training in September. After undergoing surgery, Afellay went through a seven-month recovery period. On 29 April, he returned to the field as a substitute in the 71st minute replacing teammate Sergio Busquets against Rayo Vallecano on a 7–0 away trashing win for the Catalan side. Although he appeared in two more La Liga fixtures, manager Pep Guardiola did not call-up Afellay for the major matches against Chelsea and Real Madrid.
In the build-up for the 2012–13 season, Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova notified Afellay of his decreased playing time in the upcoming year. It prompted him to accept a loan offer from FC Schalke 04 on 31 August. He was reunited with Jefferson Farfán and coach Huub Stevens. Afellay made his debut the next day against FC Augsburg. He scored four goals at Schalke, including the opening goal in the Revierderby against Borussia Dortmund (1–2) and a goal against Arsenal in the Champions League. Afellay played his last Schalke match on 10 November; he picked up a muscle injury in a Dutch national team friendly against Germany a few days later. The injury prevented Afellay from playing until January, when he suffered a similar muscle strain in a friendly against Al Sadd SC. With the recovery this time taking the remainder of the season, Afellay returned to The Netherlands after expressing his discontent with the medical treatment at Schalke 04. Although both parties kept in contact, Afellay did not return to Gelsenkirchen anymore after the injury; a move that led to criticism from Schalke's general manager Horst Heldt.