Mourinho hopes to keep Van der Vaart

(GSM) – Real Madrid coach José Mourinho has declared he is a fan of Rafael van der Vaart and that he would like to keep the Dutch playmaker at the Santiago Bernabéu.

Van der Vaart has been heavily linked with a move away from Real after the arrival of Mesut Özil from Werder Bremen, earlier this month. The Dutch international is being made available by Los Blancos for the remaining days of the market but Mourinho would be happy to keep him on his squad.

“I like Rafa,” said Mourinho. “He has played less in preseason because I have been playing with Benzema, who entered the second half and Di Maria also.

“Under normal conditions I would also have played Rafa for 45 minutes without problems.”