Barcelona agree to loan Bojan to Ajax
Barcelona have agreed to loan forward Bojan Krkic to Ajax Amsterdam for the 2013-14 campaign with an option for a further season, the Spanish champions said on Saturday, reports Reuters. The 22-year-old spent the past two seasons playing in Italy’s Serie A, enjoying a reasonable season for AS Roma but barely featuring last term at AC Milan. A product of Barca’s youth academy, Bojan was once regarded as one of the club’s most promising talents but fell out of favour under former coach Pep Guardiola. He will be coached by former Barca player Frank de Boer at Ajax, who won the Dutch league last season, and will have a chance to compete in the Champions League.
Van der Vaart rules out Ajax return
Rafael van der Vaart has ruled out a return to Ajax and says that he wants to end his career at Hamburg, reports Goal.com. The attacking midfielder scored five goals while adding 10 assists in 27 Bundesliga matches for the German outfit last season after making an estimated 13 million euro switch from Tottenham in August. The Netherlands international, 30, is in his second spell with Hamburg and, despite rumours to the contrary, he insists that he is not looking to move back home anytime soon. ‘I’d prefer to play here until the end of my career here. I do not want to leave Hamburg,’ he told Bild, when asked if he could return to the Amsterdam giants. Van der Vaart took part in a match to celebrate Ajax legend Sjaak Swart’s 75th birthday this week, pitting former players from the club against each other. Among those in attendance were Johan Cruyff, Guus Hiddink, Frank Rijkaard, Marc Overmars, Edwin van der Sar and Wesley Sneijder. ‘Playing with the legendary Johan Cruyff in the same team as me was one of the highlights of my career,’ he added. ‘It was really great. ‘After all the reports in the newspaper everybody expected that I would appear with a fat belly! On the field everyone wanted to have a look at my stomach. They were disappointed that there was no big belly under my t-shirt.’ Van der Vaart has two years remaining on his current contract with Hamburg.
Spurs confirm Paulinho signing
Paulinho joined Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday as the English Premier League club made their first pre-season signing in a bid to secure a top four finish next term, reports AFP. The 24-year-old, previously with Corinthians, was a regular for Brazil during their Confederations Cup campaign which culminated in a 3-0 win over Spain in the final on Sunday. Neither the fee nor length of contract has been disclosed by Tottenham. He told the north London club’s official Twitter account, @SpursOfficial: ‘I am very happy and excited to have joined Spurs. It’s a huge pleasure for my career to be at a club as big as Tottenham.’ Inter Milan and Real Madrid were also believed to be interested in a move for the midfielder, who scored twice during the Confederations Cup, following on from his equalising goal in Brazil’s 2-2 draw with England last month. — Sports Desk
-With New Age input
