Real Betis midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has admitted that he would not rule out a return to Ajax in the summer transfer window and reiterated that he has no plans to retire.
The Dutch midfielder's second stint at Bundesliga club Hamburg came to an end last summer when they chose not to offer the Netherlands international a new contract. He then returned to Spain, where he had previously played for Real Madrid, and signed for newly-promoted Betis on a three-year deal.
"My career is definitely not over," he told Voetbal International. "I am very fit and have plenty of desire. "As long as I can, I'm playing on. I know the stories: I would not be fit and often injured, but it is not the case. At the start of the season at Real Betis I had an ankle injury, but then I was fit and I trained fully. I was not played. I don't know why."
The 33-year-old was not included on the Netherlands team headed to the European Championship. He did not play at the 2014 World Cup due to a calf injury.
He said he would consider Ajax if they expressed interest and admitted he doesn't see himself at Real Betis in the future.
"I have no idea if Ajax are going to come again. It would be quite nice," he said. "If you love the game, you want to play football. I'm like this. This is the most beautiful thing there is. I'm open to everything. I'd happily play for a club in the Second Division, as long as I can keep playing.
"I'm half-Spanish and I enjoy life in Spain. Before I came to Real Betis, it all looked positive. That's how it often goes, isn't it? They made a good pitch about their footballing project, the board and the coaches gave me a warm feeling and the stadium is full every home game," he said.
"Besides, I had hoped to be in a top competition to return to the Dutch national team, especially in light of the European Championship.
"It's all been different. I rarely played and Netherlands am not at the Euros. Real Betis are still a beautiful club, but we need to see what is best. We are not talking about a contract extension."