Rafael Van der Vaart, Netherlands

Transfer news: Schalke have not been able to come to an agreement with Rafael van der Vaart

Schalke have pull out of a deal to sign Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart, leaving Hamburg as the only club interested.

The Dutchman is believed to be on his way out of White Hart Lane with a return to Germany the likely destination with Hamburg interested in a reunion.

But it seems that the 29-year-old playmaker’s financial demands have scuppered a deal with Schalke.

“If we had really wanted to have him [Van der Vaart], then we would have got him,” Schalke chief Clemens Tonnies said.

“But it didn’t make any sense because we were miles apart. The topic is over.”