FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström and FIFA Chief of Global Football Development Arsène Wenger have both paid tribute to Dennis Bergkamp after seeing the legendary former Netherlands international pick up a prestigious award. Mr Grafström and Mr Wenger were in London to see the former attacking midfielder receive the Football Writers’ Association Tribute Award for his achievements during his 11-year spell at Arsenal FC, which included playing a pivotal role as the club claimed three English Premier League titles and three FA Cups. At club level, he also featured for FC Internazionale Milano in Italy – from where he joined Arsenal in 1995 – having started his career at AFC Ajax in his hometown of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He also played and scored at two FIFA World Cups™, including netting one of the competition’s most dramatic match-winning goals of all-time as De Oranje defeated Argentina in the quarter-finals en route to claiming fourth place at the 1998 tournament in France.

“I must say it was a very emotional night for me, both as FIFA Secretary General but also as a football supporter,” said Mr Grafström after seeing Bergkamp receive the honour, which is voted for by the Football Writers’ Association’s 22-member committee. “Dennis Bergkamp is the definition of class on the pitch, a fantastic player, a great first touch, amazing goals and he really has created football history. “We could see him tonight, a humble person, a person with a great heart and very discreet, but he let his feet talk rather that doing any other type of talking, so it is a great honour for me and for FIFA to be here to recognise one of the greatest playmakers we have seen.”

Mr Wenger was Bergkamp’s coach at Arsenal for all but one of the 11 years the Dutchman, now 55, was at the north London club. Mr Wenger stepped away from his role as coach of Arsenal after 22 years at the club in 2018 before becoming FIFA Chief of Global Football Development in November 2019. As part of his FIFA role, Mr Wenger now travels the world to help implement the FIFA Talent Development Scheme, which is aimed at giving every young talent a pathway to the professional game regardless of where they live and their financial situation. It has also given him the opportunity to see the impact Bergkamp and his former Arsenal teammates – such as Thierry Henry, Martin Keown and Ian Wright, who also attended the ceremony – have had globally.

“When I arrive somewhere, people will say, ‘Ah, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry. We remember, we saw them play,’ and I then realise slowly the influence that you had on developing the brand of the club, Arsenal Football Club, at that time,” said Mr Wenger, who gave a speech in tribute to his former player. “It makes me think about the sentence that says, 'People forget about what you say, people forget about what you did, but people will never forget about how you made them feel', and that brand, that mark you put in the hearts of people who love football all over the world, is absolutely second to none and is remembered everywhere. For that, because we share one passion, for that’s the quality of the game we love, I would just like to thank you very much for that.”

Mr Grafström added: “People still talk about that Arsenal and about Dennis Bergkamp being a magician on the pitch, so you can see what impact and legacy he has had on so many people and also on the game. So, we can only hope to have many more Dennis Bergkamps growing up in all corners of the world, because this is what the magic of football will be in the future.”