Now retired from football after calling it a day in 2018 following a two month spell at Esbjerg fB, Rafael Van der Vaart is occupying himself as best he can.
The former attacking midfielder spent two years at Tottenham during which he scored 28 goals and assisted 18 others in 77 appearances before being sold to Hamburger SV in 2012.
Still, despite his short time there, the 37-year-old has kept close ties to the Premier League club, including their chairman, Daniel Levy.
In fact, Van der Vaart, in an interview with Championat in Russia, even gave the 58-year-old some advice about Tottenham signing Hakim Ziyech from Ajax, although it seems he didn’t actually listen to him.
Asked if something went wrong, he said: “Yes, how ridiculous! I told him earlier. I really like this footballer. He can do everything – both score and assist. Watching him is a pleasure. But overall, Chelsea are playing differently, a bit more Dutch in a sense, so Ziyech will suit his future team.”
The former Tottenham player was then asked a bit more about the Spurs chairman, especially if he was a character.
Van der Vaart replied: “He just defends his club. I always had a good relationship with him, although it happened that we fought. Now, if we meet, we hug.”
For those who might have missed it, Hakim Ziyech agreed, right after the January transfer window shut, to move to Frank Lampard’s Chelsea at the end of the season after four years at Ajax, where he has so far scored 48 goals and assisted another 82 in 162 games.
