Rafael van der Vaart has backed Real Madrid's pursuit of Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The Germany international is a Bosman target for Real, though Bayern are refusing to give up on tying him to a new contract.

Meanwhile, Van der Vaart, who clashed with Schweinsteiger as a Hamburg player, said: "It would be nice if Schweini was playing with us. He's an outstanding player."