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Barcelona Focus On Van Der Vaart
Panos Bletsos
Goal.com
Saturday, May 3 2008
The story made headlines just over
two weeks ago, but today El Mundo Deportivo reports
that Barcelona’s protracted interest in signing
Rafael van der Vaart could materialize this summer.
The Barcelona-based sports newspaper
had revealed Barça were keen on snatching the
Hamburg captain back in December last year and today
stresses that the Spanish giants have been following
his progress for three years, since he was still playing
for Ajax.
And the 25-year-old Dutch star caught their attention
again on February 6, when he was instrumental in the
Oranje’s 3-0 friendly victory over Croatia, even
though the Barcelona scouts had made the trip to Split
to watch the now Tottenham-bound Luka Modric in action.
Top priority
“Spain is my absolute priority, because my mother
Lolita is Spanish,” Van der Vaart said in an interview
with German weekly magazine Focus last January. “But
it has to be for a really top club, which also regularly
participates in the European Champions League. Otherwise
I can always stay at HSV.”
Goal.com reported on April 18 that Frank Rijkaard and
Aitor Beguiristáin had held preliminary talks
with one of Van der Vaart’s representatives, Bayram
Tutumlu. And although the Dutch coach could well leave
Barcelona at the end of the season, El Mundo Deportivo
suggests today that the club could have the upper hand,
as the well-known Turkish agent maintains a good relationship
with Barça’s technical secretary.
In Germany Van der Vaart, whom Barcelona intend as
Ronaldinho’s successor, has arguably transformed
from a promising starlet to one of the best creative
midfielders in the world. His contract, which he recently
refused to extend, does not expire before June 30, 2010,
but it is estimated that HSV could sell him before the
summer of 2009, when he could reportedly leave them
for no more than… 1.5 million euros, according
to a clause in their deal.
Twenty million price-tag
Barcelona had made a move to get Van der Vaart in 2006,
but Hamburg then declared he was “not for sale”.
Last year they demanded 22 million from the likes of
Milan, Juventus Turin and Valencia to let him go, when
the Spanish club were reportedly offering 17 million.
But El Mundo Deportivo estimates that HSV will now ask
for 20 million, a price which could be cut down depending
on the course of negotiations.
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