Rafael Van der Vaart has insisted he wants to stay at Tottenham this summer despite interest from German outfit Schalke.
Last week Sportsmail reported that there has already been contact between the Bundesliga club and the midfielder’s representatives and that the 29-year old would welcome the prospect of a fresh start in Germany, for personal as well as professional reasons.
But Van der Vaart, away on international duty with Holland ahead of the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, insists he does not want to walk out on his team-mates at White Hart Lane.
When asked about joining Schalke, Van der Vaart told German newspaper Bild: ‘I don’t know. Actually, I want to stay at Tottenham. But in football you never know.
‘I spent three years living in Hamburg and had a wonderful time at HSV. My wife Sylvie works there and we have many friends who live in your country.’
While he was frequently the one to make way whenever Tottenham made substitutions last season, he has been promised a pivotal role at Schalke, as the main playmaker at the heart of their midfield.
Away from the pitch, it would solve the problem of his wife Sylvie having to spend more than half of every week away from home. She works for German television station RTL and is based in Cologne, barely 100 km from Schalke’s ground.
Money is not a problem for Schalke, however, and they will have little difficulty at least matching the Dutchman’s Tottenham wages, as well as paying a fee in excess of £10m.
By Sportsmail
