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Monday 4 August 2008
He said he always wanted to play
in Spain and after weeks of speculation about his future,
Real Madrid and HSV Hamburg agreed a €14.5 million
fee for Hamburg-midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.
1.5 Million will be going to Van
der Vaart's former club Ajax Amsterdam as part of the
deal between Ajax and HSV three years ago.
The Dutch international will sign
a 5-year-contract in Madrid.
The negotiations were concluded
early this morning.
After Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley
Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Royston Drenthe Van der Vaart
will be the fifth DUtchman in the ranks of the reigning
Spanish champions.
"This is what I wanted. This
is what I deramt of; playing in Spain and for the biggest
club in the world," the player said in a first
reaction.
"I never worried about the
outcome of the negotiations. I had faith in a positive
result. The fact that I didn't play for Hamburg this
weekend was all because of the imminent transfer. The
coaching staff knew it didn't make sense to take any
risks. Look at Wesley Sneijder to see how easy accidents
can happen."
Van der Vaart said good-bye to
the squad of Hamburg this morning.
"I owe a lot to this club.
Hamburg was the best choice after Ajax. I became a man
in the Bundesliga. Now I am ready to take it to the
next level."
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