Rafael Van Der Vaart Will Not Return to Hamburg Next Season

Hamburg chief executive Dietmar Beiersdorfer has confirmed that Rafael van der Vaart will leave the club when his current contract expires at the end of the season.

The Dutch midfielder joined up with the Bundesliga club for the second time in his career in 2012 after a spell with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. A product of the Ajax academy, the Oranje star also had a two-year stint with La Liga giant Real Madrid.

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But Beiersdorfer has revealed that the 32-year-old will leave the club along with Marcell Jansen. He also confirmed no decision has been made on the futures of Heiko Westermann and Slobodan Rajkovic, per the club’s official website (h/t Goal.com):

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We have already talked with Van der Vaart, Jansen, Westermann and Rajkovic about our planning. Rafael and Marcell know that we will not open talks about a contract extension with them.

Regarding Heiko and Slobodan, we have postponed the decision and communicated it to the players as well.

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The Dutch international remains one of the club’s most creative players and has scored four goals in the league this season, per WhoScored.com. But as noted by the piece, it looks as though the former Spurs man is primed for a move to Major League Soccer, with Sporting Kansas City confirming an interest in bringing him stateside.

Matthias Schrader/Associated Press

While the sharpness and fleet-footedness that made Van der Vaart such an encapsulating talent may have waned in recent years, he still has the requisite class to make a massive impression in the American top flight.

The slower tempo of games will allow him more time on the ball and as such we should be treated to a few more mercurial moments from this player yet before he hangs up his boots for good.