Former Swansea and Napoli midfielder set to retire and take up coaching role at Sparta Rotterdam | OneFootball

Sparta Rotterdam have announced the players whose contracts will be terminated. One of those is former Swansea midfielder Jonathan de Guzmán. However, de Guzmán will not be leaving the club at the end of the season. Instead, he will transition into a coaching role to remain with Sparta Rotterdam.

The former Swansea midfielder has been with Sparta Rotterdam since 2022, having joined from Greek side OFI Crete on a free transfer. Now 38, de Guzmán has played 65 games for Sparta Rotterdam since making the move, scoring three goals. So far this season he has only played 80 minutes.

Prior to his twilight spell in the Netherlands, de Guzmán has had a long and successful career. He started out with Feyenoord before playing for Mallorca and Villarreal. In 2012 he joined Swansea on loan, where he would have two successful seasons. De Guzmán played 93 games for Swansea in the Premier League, scoring 15 goals and impressing plenty with his standout performances. De Guzmán was part of the Swansea side that won the EFL Cup during the 2012/2013 season.

This earned him a move to Napoli in 2014, although he struggled to replicate the form he had shown for Swansea in the Premier League. After just 36 appearances and loan spells with Carpi and Chievo Verona, de Guzmán left for Eintracht Frankfurt in 2017. De Guzmán spent three seasons with the Bundesliga side, playing 68 games and winning the DFB Pokal in 2018.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson