Former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart still thinks highly of his compatriot Ryan Gravenberch. The young midfielder has had a mixed first season at Bayern, which is why van der Vaart advises him to leave for a while – ideally in the direction of ex-club Ajax.
In the tz said van der Vaart about Gravenberch: “When you get such a great talent like him, it’s normal that he needs time. The first year at Bayern wasn’t easy. It was his first time abroad. It’s also for the whole team didn’t do well.” For the ex-HSV star it is therefore clear: “He just needs minutes. If he continues to play so little, it might be better if he switched back to Bayern after a year.”
Gravenberch hired in Munich last summer for 18.5 million euros. There he did not get beyond the role of noble reservist under either Julian Nagelsmann or Thomas Tuchel. The 21-year-old has repeatedly complained publicly about the short working hours and rumors of transfers have been circulating for a long time. A few weeks ago, Liverpool FC in particular was in the raffle, according to tz, Champions League semi-finalists AC Milan are now also dealing with him.
For van der Vaart, however, these would not be the right next steps: “In his place, I would not go back to a big club. A loan might be better. Ajax could bring him back for a year, that would be good. They would need him . He just has to play.”
Ryan Gravenberch at FC Bayern: contract until 2027
The 40-year-old would have “preferred” it in 2022 if Gravenberch hadn’t gone to an absolute top club like FCB, but “had taken an intermediate step to a not-so-big club.” He cited his own transfer from Ajax to HSV in 2005 as an example.
Gravenberch is under contract with FCB until 2027. Despite all the dissatisfaction, the teenager recently said that he would stay in Munich. A sale would be a mistake for van der Vaart from Bayern’s point of view anyway: “He’s a huge player. If I were Bayern, I wouldn’t sell him again so quickly.”
Finally, the former midfield star drew a daring comparison: “If he’s in a good mood and plays, I find his qualities better than Jude Bellingham.”
