Rafael van der Vaart admits it would be "very hard" to reject a move to Manchester United this summer.
Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart admits it would be "very hard" to reject a move to Manchester United this summer.
Van der Vaart, who represented Netherlands at the World Cup finals, could be surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu as Real have signed Mesut Ozil, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Canales to play in advanced midfield roles this summer.
While the former Ajax and Hamburg star recently said he does not want to leave the club, the prospect of a move to Old Trafford has forced him to reconsider his position.
"I could never play for another club in Spain and the truth is that if you are leaving Real Madrid, there is only one club you can join that is not a step down - and that's Manchester United," Van der Vaart told the Daily Express.
"They are a huge club and if the reported interest they have in me turns out to be true, then I would really have to sit down and listen.
"If Manchester United could offer me first-team football with the situation as it is at Madrid, it would be very hard to turn down. Alex Ferguson is a great coach and I would never think about joining a team where I didn't believe I could win things, so all of a sudden that limits your choices.
"At Manchester United you know success is likely and that's a big factor for me at this stage of my career. "If [Real boss] Jose Mourinho makes it clear I won't play much, I see my future in English football."
Y wld man u want a mourinho reject? if the Real boss whose judgment of players is that astute, thinks he can't make it, no big club would want him too. He's better off in hamburg.