Eredivisie giants Ajax have all but confirmed their interest in recruiting former player Rafael van der Vaart.
The 32-year-old will be out of contract at the end of the season, and with his current side Hamburg again involved in the relegation tussle, he looks unlikely to extend his stay at Imtech Arena.
His former club Ajax hope to lure van der Vaart back to Amsterdam ArenA, with coach Frank de Boer admitting his interest in the Netherlands international.
“He is an experienced player who can be deployed in multiple positions. With his experience, I think he is always welcome,” De Boer told FOX Sports.
“Our first arrows are aimed at other options, but I think this is a very interesting option for us, and I have said it earlier.”
Rafael va…
Jude Bellingham made it 10 goals in 10 games for Real Madrid with a clinical brace in a 4-0 victory over Osasuna that saw Carlo Ancelotti’s men return to the top of LaLiga.
The England midfielder struck in either half before Vinicius Junior and Joselu wrapped up the points as Madrid reclaimed top spot from Girona, who had won earlier in the day.
Madrid needed just nine minutes to get their noses in front at the Bernabeu and, almost inevitably, it was Bellingham who did the damage.
Don t know what this is about but we love it
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
Luka Modric picked out Dani Carvajal’s run into the area and the full-back cleverly laid the ball back to Bellingham, who took a couple of touches before drilling a left-footed shot i…
Recently crowned DFB Pokal champions Wolfsburg will begin the defence of their title away to Stuttgarter Kickers, just over two months after lifting the trophy.
The German Football Association (DFB) completed the draw for the first round of the 2015-16 DFB Pokal on Wednesday with Stuttgarter Kickers being awarded the honour of taking on the title-holders.
The first round is scheduled to be held from August 7-10.
The Kickers finished fourth in Germany s 3. Liga in 2014-15 but were eliminated in the first round of last season s DFB Pokal by eventual finalists Borussia Dortmund.
Wolfsburg defeated Dortmund 3-1 in Berlin on May 30 to claim their first title since being crowned Bundesliga champions in 2008-09.
Dortmund will travel to another third-tier…
Milan chairman Paolo Scaroni has played down concerns regarding the potential loss of Rafael Leao after insisting the side always replace well .
Leao starred during Milan s triumphant Serie A campaign in the 2021-22 season, scoring 11 goals and contributing a further eight assists as they beat city rivals Inter to the Scudetto on the final day of the season.
The contributions of the Portugual forward have not gone unnoticed, with Real Madrid having been attributed with an interest in the 23-year-old.
While Scaroni did not erase the fears of fans that Leao could be lured away from the club, he outlined evidence that Milan have done well in the past to land suitable replacements for those that moved elsewhere.
Leao is without doubt a precious gem but Mil…
Barcelona are interested in re-signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Chelsea in the summer of 2023, according to . The report has claimed that the former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners have asked Premier League club Chelsea about the availability of Aubameyang.
Aubameyang joined Barcelona in February 2022 after his contract at Arsenal was mutually terminated. the Gabonese striker made 13 starts and four substitute appearances in La Liga for Barcelona during the second half of last season, scoring 11 goals and providing one assist in the process. The 33-year-old made five starts and one substitute appearance in the UEFA Europa League for the Blaugrana during the second half of last season, scoring two goals in the process.
Chelsea signed the former Arsenal st…
Borussia Dortmund have completed the signing of Ajax striker Sebastien Haller on a four-year deal worth a reported €36million.
The 28-year-old joins the Bundesliga side following the sale of Erling Haaland to Manchester City, with Dortmund also landing exciting forward Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg earlier in the transfer window.
After a disappointing stint in the Premier League with West Ham, Haller excelled in the Netherlands with Ajax during a prolific 18-month spell that included 11 goals in just eight Champions League appearances in the 2021-22 season.
That included a four-goal haul in Ajax s first group-stage match against Sporting, as well as goals in both of their fixtures against Dortmund.
All in all, he scored in all but one of Ajax s Champ…
Neville desperately needs his Valencia side to deliver this weekend
Valencia enjoyed a valuable away win against Las Palmas in the Copa Del Rey to book their place in the semi-final against Barcelona, and the victory could well see Los Che replicate such form into their domestic campaign after manager Gary Neville’s winless start in La Liga.
Opponents Gijon can t win on the road
Valencia lock horns with strugglers Sporting Gijon on Sunday afternoon, and boast much superior form to that of the travel-sick visitors. Neville’s side haven’t been winning games, but they haven’t been losing either. As for Gijon, the away outfit are coming off the back of five defeats from six.
The relegation-threatened side lost to Valencia in their earlier league meet…
UEFA has appointed Theodore Theodoridis as its general secretary ad interim.
Theodoridis takes over temporarily from Gianni Infantino, who was elected as the new FIFA president last Friday.
In a release announcing Theodoridis appointment, UEFA also reiterated no presidential elections will take place until the Court of Arbitration for Sport comes to a decision on Michel Platini s six-year ban from all football-related activity.
Theodoridis has worked at UEFA since January 2008, serving as director of the national associations division before taking the position of deputy general secretary in October 2010.
Additionally, UEFA announced goal-line technology, set to be introduced in the Champions League from next season, will be used in this year s final in M…
Santi Cazorla has refused to rule out a return to Villarreal, .
The Spain international has already had two spells with the La Liga outfit first at the beginning of his career while he moved back to the Yellow Submarine after a year with Recreativo in 2007.
In total he has racked up over one hundred and sixty appearances for the club, scoring thirty-three goals, while he was part of the squad that won the now defunct Intertoto Cup in 2004.
He moved to the Emirates Stadium from Malaga in 2012 and has since turned out for the Gunners one hundred and sixty-seven times, scoring twenty-seven goals and winning the FA Cup in both 2014 and 2015.
He has been capped seventy-seven times for his country and was part of their victorious European Championships squ…
Brazil head coach Tite and the Selecao are eyeing the Copa America final as they prepare to face Peru in a rematch of the 2019 decider.
Tite s defending champions Brazil and Peru will go head-to-head in Monday s semi-final in Rio de Janeiro.
The Selecao have now gone 12 games in all competitions without defeat, keeping a clean sheet in nine of those after defeating Chile 1-0 in the quarter-finals, while Tite is yet to lose a match in this competition while in charge.
Should Brazil reach back-to-back Copa finals, Tite will equal Mario Zagallo as the Selecao coach with the longest unbeaten run in the tournament s history (12 games).
The two teams have a tradition of clashes in the Copa America and two years ago we met in the final, but we also met in the g…