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There has been plenty of speculation concerning the future of Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart in the past couple of months and the player himself has now made it clear that he will certainly not leave Real Madrid for another Spanish team.
"The night that head coach Manuel Pellegrini told me that I was no longer needed was a dreadful evening. I never expected that and I was really disappointed," was Van der Vaart quoted as saying by Dutch sports weekly Sportweek.
"Joining Real in the summer of 2008 was like a dream come true for me. I wouldn't have want to miss it, even though things never got going as I expected. I'm not a quitter, but my situation at the club leaves me no other choice but to move on.
"I'm not too happy with the way Madrid is treating me, but that's football. A player doesn't exactly have a choice when a club decides that you're surplus to requirements. Ending up at the club of your choice pretty much is a luxury.
"I don't want to join a club that snaps me up just because I'm a cheap transfer target. I want to be important again at my new club. The World Championships are coming up and I need to be ready.
"Joining another club in Spain isn't an option for me. Every club is a step back when you've played for Real Madrid. Even teams such as Valencia and Barcelona. I want to enjoy playing football again and I want to do so outside Spain."
I know he doesn't want to come here but I'm sure if we promise him starting 11 he might come.
Imagine... Flamini-Pirlo-VDV
With seedorf, gattuso, ambrosini, abate for back up. He can also back up dinho too. I think he would be a great addition to our squad. He would cost us probably 8m. I think thats a steal.
Why must we be stupid and not sign these players now when they are going to double in price next year. At least with VDV if things don't work out we can sell him for a profit considering 8m is nothing. He is an international player afterall.
This post has been edited by Bluesummers: Aug 19 2009, 06:30 AM