13 May 2012

Milan's van Bommel to leave Italian soccer

9:37 am on 13 May 2012

AC Milan's Mark van Bommel was in tears as he revealed yesterday he will be leaving the football club at the end of the season.

The 35-year-old Dutchman will join the likes of fellow veterans Gennaro Gattuso, Filippo Inzaghi and Alessandro Nesta in moving on.

Clarence Seedorf and Gianluca Zambrotta are widely tipped to also leave this summer.

van Bommel says the club has been like a family to him but it's time for him to move on.

Van Bommel joined from Bayern Munich in January 2011 and helped Milan to a first league title since 2004 last season.

Van Bommel is expected to return to his former club PSV Eindhoven, where he spent six years after joining from Fortuna Sittard and before moving to Barcelona.

The tough-tackling Dutch international has won league titles in four different countries during his career, winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2006 and reaching another final with Bayern Munich in 2010.

He was twice named Dutch player of the year and has won a total of eight league titles, as well as a Dutch second division crown with Fortuna.