Unsettled Spurs ace Van der Vaart fires barb at Redknapp

Rafael van der Vaart is unsettled at Tottenham.

The Sunday Mirror says the Dutchman played and scored in yesterday’s win at Wigan, but only started ­because Jermain Defoe was taken ill before the game. Earlier he ­confided in international team-mates that he is fed up being overlooked by the manager.

More damaging though is a text message Van der Vaart sent to ­Holland team-mate Theo Janssen, who has found himself in a similar situation at Ajax.

Janssen said: “I was taken off in the Champions League against Olympique Lyon and I was really angry. The next moment I received a text ­message from Rafael, who said he was wondering if I happened to have the same contract as he has at Spurs.

“I asked him what kind of contract that was? He ­answered: ‘One which states that you are only allowed to play 70 minutes in each match.’”

It was clearly a dig at Harry Redknapp. To add further fuel to the Milan fire Van der Vaart’s beautiful wife, ­Sylvie, already appears to be preparing for life in Italy.

She has a good career as a TV ­presenter and actress on the ­continent. She was voted ­Germany’s ‘Media Woman of the Year’ and is now planning to conquer Italy. To pave the way she has done a big photo shoot with one of Italy’s most ­popular magazines.

Milan may prove a popular destination for both Van der Vaarts.