Rafael on the ‘tough’ upbringing of son Damián: ‘Instagram is the biggest waterfall’

Sylvie Meis and Rafael van der Vaart are the proud parents of their son Damián, who celebrated his eighth birthday this year (see video). Rafael is “very proud” of his football son, now that FC Ajax has offered Damián a contract. “I’m that top athlete myself and I know what the problems are,” the former soccer player tells the weekly magazine Story.

Rafael is very happy with the start of his son’s career. However, he says that not all success falls in his lap. “He has to do something and give up a lot for that,” he says. “It’s not easy for anyone. As long as he says that this is what he wants, I will be strict with him.” The former famous athlete also says that he can really identify with his son. “There was no permission I have done everything in the past. I didn’t always like that, but in the end it gave me a lot.”

He also says that Damián must be able to deal with obstacles in the world of football. “I know what the dirt pits are, so I often talk to Damián about them.” Rafael has to share this advice via video call, as he and his son currently living in other countries.For example, Rafael lives in Romania with a handball player Estavanna Polman. Sylvie’s mother also lives in Hamburg, Germany, where she has a reasonable income.

next to Sylvie Meiswho is very active on Instagram, her son is also present and regularly shares a picture of his daily life. However, Rafael is not keen on this. “That Instagram is the biggest problem for Damián,” Rafael said of his son. “Instagram is not always a good place for a young top athlete like Damián. We fight about that,” he says openly in an interview with Story.

Avoiding advice

He tells how Damián sometimes ignores his advice. “He often asks if he can post a certain picture. I usually say no. Sometimes he listens and sometimes he doesn’t.” Rafael seems to understand this too. “I didn’t always listen to my father before,” he admits.

See in the video below how Damián was very proud of Rafael’s father this year…