Real made to wait for van der Vaart
by Tom Kell, 20 July 2008
Real Madrid must cross Hamburg’s Rafael van der Vaart off their summer shopping list after the Holland international’s revelation that he is happy to remain in Germany for another 12 months.
Madrid had previously been confident of bringing van der Vaart to the Spanish capital having been impressed by his displays at Euro 2008.
Much like the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer saga, Madrid’s assurance has not been matched by either Hamburg or the player, who has consistently played down talk of a move to pastures new.
However, he has now made his clearest remarks to date on his immediate future.
“I am ready to play one more season here,” said van der Vaart.
In another potential similarity to Ronaldo’s situation, the former Ajax man has hinted that a move to Madrid might be more feasible next summer.
“Everyone would like to play there,” he conceded.