Memphis Depay: Why the Netherlands still believe in the enigmatic Man Utd and Barcelona flop

As nearly everyone who follows football knows, Memphis only wanted to be known by his first name for many years because of his tumultuous relationship with his father Dennis, who walked out on his mother when Memphis was only three years of age.

Divorce can do enormous emotional damage to a child no matter the outcome, but things worked out even worse for Memphis, as his mother remarried and moved in with a man who already had 10 children. Life became unbearable for the eight-year-old Memphis, who suffered constant physical and mental abuse at the hands of his step-brothers in his new home.

“Mostly it involved fights with the fists, but I was also threatened with a knife a number of times," he revealed in his autobiography Heart of a Lion. "Another time, a boy clamped a pair of pliers on my ear and started pulling hard. I was constantly on my guard. I was called 'monkey' and 'sh*thead'."

Football offered Memphis an escape from the misery of his daily life but, even as he progressed through the youth team ranks at hometown club Moodrecht, Sparta Rotterdam and then PSV, he carried with him a deep-rooted rage.

Working with Fred Rutten in Eindhoven helped him at least partially control his anger and he ended up making his first-team debut for PSV in September 2011 while still only 17 years age. By the time he'd turned 21, he was being labelled the best young player in the world by France Football.

There were those that remained concerned by his perceived cockiness, but it was also argued that his self-belief would stand him in good stead when he arrived at Old Trafford in the summer of 2015 - and promptly took the No.7 jersey in typically self-assured fashion.

The fact that one of his compatriots, Louis van Gaal, was sitting in the Old Trafford hotseat at the time also appeared to bode well. In reality, though, the "dream move" proved a disaster.

Memphis lasted just 18 months at United, during which time he managed to score just two Premier League goals in 33 appearances. He grew so confused and disillusioned by Van Gaal's methods and demands that he actually welcomed his fellow Dutchman's dismissal at the end of his first season in England, particularly as the manager had left him out of his squad for the 2016 FA Cup final win over Crystal Palace.

However, Memphis fared no better under Van Gaal's successor, Jose Mourinho, who sanctioned the winger's sale to Lyon in January 2017.

"I lost myself in Manchester," he admitted in Heart of a Lion. “I only realised it later. I blamed everyone at the time - everyone except myself. I thought Van Gaal was a d*ckhead, Mourinho was an a*sehole; nobody was any good in my eyes.

"Obviously, that’s not how life works but that was how I saw it at the time. I hadn’t just lost myself, I'd neglected my relationship with God as well. Then, you're on your own. And you won't make it."

In France, Memphis found both God and his form. He became a Christian in 2016 and he credits his faith with revitalising his career. "I changed for good," he once said of his conversion. "God had been always been on my side. It was me who hadn't been there for Him before.

He was certainly different on and off the field at Lyon, for whom he scored 76 times in 178 appearances.

"I was barely 23 when I arrived," he told L'Equipe shortly before his departure for Barcelona in 2021. "I have grown up. Here, I became a man. When I look back, I think it is a wonderful thing. I have built memories that will last for a long time, friendships too. Here, this was my home. I have had magnificent times here. I played in the Champions’ League, I became captain, a better player and a more complete player."

He certainly looked it during the early stages of his Camp Nou career, with Memphis scoring eight goals in his first 14 outings in La Liga. However, the attacker's momentum was interrupted by a couple of injuries during the winter months of his debut season at Barcelona, and he never managed to regain it.

He'd become a bit-part player under Xavi when the Catalans agreed to sell him to rivals Atletico Madrid in January 2023 to help balance the books.

Memphis' move to Madrid arguably went even worse than his spell at Barcelona. Again, injuries were an incessant problem and led to him failing to play enough minutes to trigger the clause in his contract that would have extended his time at the Metropolitano for another season. Consequently, he currently finds himself without a club - and yet starting up front for Netherlands at the Euros.

Why? Because at no point during the past few years of struggle did either Van Gaal or Ronald Koeman lose faith in Memphis. The rebuilding of his relationship with the former was particularly surprising, given how badly they had fallen out at Old Trafford, but Van Gaal even brought it up while sitting alongside Memphis during a press conference at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when the former United boss was asked about the fact that Angel di Maria had described him as the worst coach he'd ever played under.

“It’s sad Angel would say that, it's a pity," Van Gaal told reporters ahead of Netherlands' quarter-final clash with Argentina. “Memphis Depay… the same thing happened to him and now he is next to me, and we kiss each other on the mouth! That is just how things pan out in football.

"Yes, I didn’t select Memphis for the [FA Cup] final [in 2016]. That’s not nice but, believe me, a head coach does not do this without reason. It might have been wrong, but just look at how we deal with each other now.”

Koeman has never brought up kisses, but it's clear that he's just as close to Memphis, who has probably played the best football of his international career under the former Barcelona boss, who not only brought him to Camp Nou but also made him the focal point of his attack during both of his stints in charge of the Netherlands.

Consequently, even though Memphis has come in for criticism for his inconsistent performances in Germany this summer, Koeman has always steadfastly supported the forward, who still divides opinion in his native Netherlands, where his association with - and continual support of - the likes of Quincy Promes, Dani Alves and Benjamin Mendy has not gone over well at all.

There is nothing remotely orthodox about Memphis, a religious rapper with his own clothing line. He is, at times, an incredibly contradictory character and his alleged arrogance has alienated some of his compatriots.

Indeed, there's a feeling that the second-most prolific player in the history of the Netherlands national team (46 goals) has done very little in major tournaments to justify his self-confidence, which is why he is not as revered as Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, another outgoing individual who both played the game and lived his life with a swagger - but also delivered in the biggest games on the grandest stages.

Wednesday's semi-final against England, thus, feels like a defining moment for Memphis. He was heavily criticised for his performances in his country's first two games, against Poland and France, with many calling for Wout Weghorst to start up top instead.

But even if the latter is tasked with leading the line in Dortmund, it remains highly likely that Koeman will still start a player that ranked second for pressures applied in the final third in the group stage, got off the mark at the Euros with a well-taken goal against Austria, created more chances than any other player on the pitch in the last-16 rout of Romania (five), and also contributed a crucial assist from out wide in the come-from-behind win over Turkey in the quarter-finals.

"He's a very good player," Koeman said. "Of course he can play better, but I want to make it clear that he plays an important role in this team. This team needs him and he needs the team."

That's certainly true of the showdown in Dortmund. This is a glorious opportunity for Memphis to change the negative narrative; to belatedly show the football world that there's much, much more to the Netherlands enigma than fancy cars, cowboy hats and controversy.