Van der Vaart responded to Yamal: I was kind and advised him not to pay too much attention to the comments of fat former players [xueting]
2025-03-24
On March 25, Rafael van der Vaart responded to the jibes made at him on Yamal's social media by advising the Spanish starlet not to take too seriously the comments of a former player who has put on a lot of weight.
After the Netherlands' Europa League quarter-final first leg against Spain, Rafael van der Vaart criticised the performance of Yamal, saying he wore his trousers too low and looked like a slut.
Yamal scored in the second leg, pulling down his trousers in celebration to hit back at van der Vaart. Spain reached the final four through a penalty shootout, after which Yamal posted a mocking message on social media.
Van der Vaart said: "I would advise him not to pay too much attention to what a former player who is a bit fat says, it's not important at all, I mean well. When you're 17 and you get that many compliments, you start to feel like the whole world revolves around you."
"We all go through these phases, but it's not like that. Football is fun but completely unimportant, and if you start putting on AIRS or feeling like a god, you'll become a less likable person. That's what I saw in him - the pants were too low, a bit sloppy, especially in the first leg, but yesterday he didn't play well either, just the most important kick, and I'm just saying that. I played in Spain, so if someone is going to be angry, so be angry."
Sneijder gave van der Vaart his backing: "I think he did play badly in the first leg. I've never seen him play so badly, so weak."
Van der Vaart was asked if he felt it was something to be proud of to be responded to by such a player and he said: "Proud? Sure, it means you still have influence, but it doesn't matter. Half of my family is Spanish, and they all still live there. And all of a sudden, it just exploded. I didn't feel I had done anything wrong at all, like I was calling him nothing. He deserves the praise, he's a great player. I just think he's doing something I don't like. He has to keep his feet on the ground."