Real Madrid have confirmed that they have agreed an £18.3m deal with Ajax for Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder.
The 23-year-old is set to sign a five-year contract with the Spanish club.
Sneijder was delighted to secure his move to Real, but admitted he is ‘nervous’ about the prospect of playing for the Spanish champions.
“I am just a little bit nervous and tense because Real Madrid is the greatest club in the world, but after everything has been solved I am very happy,” Sneijder told AS.
“I wanted to be a Real Madrid player and this desire has become reality.”
He becomes Real’s fifth buy of the summer, following the signing of defenders Christoph Metzelder and Pepe, striker Javier Saviola and goalie Jerzy Dudek.
Another Dutchman, Royston Drenthe, is also expected to join Real before the closure of the transfer window.
Club director Martin van Geel admitted Ajax could not prevent Sneijder from joining Real, but he was disappointed with the timing of the transfer.
“It’s a terrible shame to lose one of our best players just before the very important qualifying matches in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League,” said Van Geel in a statement.
“At the same time we couldn’t deny Wesley Sneijder this chance and we’re proud that one of our home-trained players is going to an absolute top European club for a very large amount of money.”
