Dutch football star Clarence Seedorf converts to Islam

Agencies | Amsterdam

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Superstar Dutch football player Clarence Seedorf announced on Friday that he had converted to Islam.

The former AC Milan, Real Madrid and Ajax midfielder made the announcement on his Instagram profile, saying: "A special thanks to all the nice messages in celebration of me joining the Muslim family."

"I'm very happy and pleased to join all the Brothers and Sisters around the world especially my adorable [wife] Sophia [Makramati] who has taught me more in depth the meaning of Islam.

"I didn't change my name and will continue to carry my name as given by my parents, Clarence Seedorf! I'm sending all my love to everyone in the world."

Considered one of the most successful players in Uefa Champions League history, Seedorf is the only footballer to have won the Champions League with three different clubs.

The hardworking and versatile midfielder - who speaks at least six languages - played in the Dutch national team 87 times and played in three Uefa European Football Championships and the 1998 Fifa World Cup, reaching the semi-finals of the latter three tournaments.

After retiring from the pitch, he went on to become manager of a number of teams including AC Milan and the Cameroon national team.

Last year, Seedorf joined former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of the most prominent Muslim athletes in recent decades, to launch the Seedorf Khabib Performance Club, a football academy they said would use a "unique training methodology" that fuses football and mixed martial arts.

"We have the same mission in life," Seedorf said. "We want to give something back to the young generations."

"We are going to bring in the knowledge, the coaches and methodology, monitoring and supporting from a marketing point of view to support the growth of each venue and each partnership."