Rafael van der Vaart has officially signed his new three-year contract with recently promoted side Real Betis, as the Dutch international embarks on his second spell in La Liga after passing his medical earlier that morning.
The former Hamburg star finally arrived at the San Pablo Airport in Sevilla at 22:30 on Sunday evening where he donned a Real Betis scarf ahead of his reported move to Pepe Mel’s club, where he will sign a three-year deal and become the face of the club.
The two sides have been negotiating for weeks with an agreement to sign the former Real Madrid star on a two-year deal with an optional third year finally reached last week.
After his contract with Hamburg was allowed to expire, van der Vaart made it clear that he was determined to make the move back to Spain and play in Andalusia to be closer to his grandfather Rafael Garcia Peci and grandmother Dolores who still live in Chiclana de la Frontera, where his mother Lolita was born.
While van der Vaart’s first choice was to join Cadiz, the Segunda B side were in no way capable of supporting his salary, narrowing the two eligible teams down to Malaga and Real Betis.
The Dutchman has agreed to join Real Betis and while he will stretch their budget as the highest-paid player, it’s the kind of impact signing that may draw others to the club and bring them the goals they need to stay in the Primera for many years to come.
The former Hamburg star finally arrived at the San Pablo Airport in Sevilla at 22:30 on Sunday evening where he donned a Real Betis scarf ahead of his reported move to Pepe Mel’s club, where he will sign a three-year deal and become the face of the club.
The two sides have been negotiating for weeks with an agreement to sign the former Real Madrid star on a two-year deal with an optional third year finally reached last week.
After his contract with Hamburg was allowed to expire, van der Vaart made it clear that he was determined to make the move back to Spain and play in Andalusia to be closer to his grandfather Rafael Garcia Peci and grandmother Dolores who still live in Chiclana de la Frontera, where his mother Lolita was born.
While van der Vaart’s first choice was to join Cadiz, the Segunda B side were in no way capable of supporting his salary, narrowing the two eligible teams down to Malaga and Real Betis.
The Dutchman has agreed to join Real Betis and while he will stretch their budget as the highest-paid player, it’s the kind of impact signing that may draw others to the club and bring them the goals they need to stay in the Primera for many years to come.