Rafaele counts down to Juve Wednesday 9 January, 2008
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Rafaele Van Der Vaart has his heart set on a move to Juventus this summer after refusing a lucrative contract extension at Hamburg.
The Dutch international midfielder has made no secret of his desire to relocate to Turin and he is now hoping that his current club can be persuaded to let him leave.
Having refused a new deal with the Bundesliga team that would have doubled his salary, Van Der Vaart is already dreaming of Serie A.
“The Italian League is very competitive and it would be an important experience,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Italy is a beautiful country and I would love to play there. For now, however, I am at Hamburg and I have to concentrate on having a good season here.
“I didn’t want to extend my contract at Hamburg, even though the offer on the table was superb.
“My deal there runs out in 2010 so there would be lots of time to negotiate, but in reality I can’t see myself playing there for much longer.
“It is a great honour for me to be rated highly by a big club like Juventus, but at the moment I can’t say any more as I haven’t spoken to the Old Lady’s directors yet.
“The Bianconeri have shown a strong interest in me, but nothing is concrete.”
If Juve and Hamburg fail to agree terms for the 24-year-old, Rafael could invoke FIFA’s Article 17 that allows a player to buy his way out of a contract by making a compensation payment to his club.
“I would prefer it if the two sides could come to an agreement,” Van Der Vaart insisted. “I don’t even know if they have spoken yet.”
The interview concluded with Van Der Vaart revealing another reason that he is desperate to join the Cadetti champions.
Alessandro Del Piero is a fantastic player and he is my idol,” he explained. “To play with him would be a dream.”