Tottenham Star Rafael van der Vaart Insists Premier League Is The Best In The World

Redknapp is a "great man and everybody loves him"
Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart says that the Premier League is the best league in world football - after a playing career that has spanned several European countries.

"I think the Premier League is the best league in the world," the Dutch international told Absolute Radio.

"It's normal that everybody is watching the games, and I think it's also normal because it’s a really big league, a lot of good players, good teams, so it’s the best league."

Many foreign players struggle to deal with the physical nature of the English Premier League, but van der Vaart has not been fazed by that side of the competition - pointing to the tempo of the game as a key reason for the league's superiority.

"I think the speed of the game is higher because it’s really hard, physical," he added. "In Spain they try to play more like good football, so I think that’s the main difference."

Van der Vaart began his career at Ajax, scoring 60 goals in 141 appearances for the Eredivise club and winning two league titles.

He was in equally impressive form at German side Hamburg, scoring 48 goals in 116 games - before his career stalled slightly at Spanish giants Real Madrid.

The Dutch playmaker scored just 12 goals in 71 games for the La Liga outfit, but a large amount of his appearances for the Galacticos came from the substitutes bench as he struggled to shine.