Van der Vaart denies Chelsea rumours

Real Madrid’s Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart on Monday denied rumours linking him with Chelsea.

“I hear there are rumours about me wanting to go to Chelsea. But I have never said that. I have not yet decided on my future. I don’t know anything about it,” he said on his official website.

“At Real Madrid a lot of things are going to happen in the summer. A new president and maybe a new coach. So I’ll just wait and see.”

British press reports have linked the 26-year-old playmaker with a move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Real signed the Dutch international from Bundesliga side Hamburg last summer in a deal reportedly worth 13 million euros (17 million dollars).

But in December the club replaced coach Bernd Schuster with Juande Ramos, under whom van der Vaart has failed to hold down a regular first team spot.

The reigning Spanish champions this season have been eliminated from the Spanish Cup and the Champions League and trail arch-rivals and league leaders Barcelona by six points in the Primera Liga.

Van der Vaart’s wife, Sylvie, is a well-known model and television personality, and the Spanish press have compared the pair to David Beckham and his pop star wife Victoria, who became high-profile celebrities in Spain during the English player’s stint at Real.