Gareth Bale is...The most expensive player ever?!

When? Give us some examples.

Spurs are a aone man team at the minute. He's winning games on his own.

I don't think we need anymore Nani comparisons, it serves no purpose and given where the two are at right now it seems silly.

I agree with Lawman, football already has a ridiculous relationship with money, so for those looking for an economical decision regarding Bale, you're pissing up the wrong tree.
 
Problem is comparing a predicted transfer fee with the 50m on Torres or 34m on Carroll is that is not always accurate. Chelsea were arguably signing one of the world's best centre forwards in Torres and the price reflected that. Obviously he hasn't lived up to it. Carroll was simply a huge overpayment.

Ronaldo went for 80m. After setting the PL alight consistently for several seasons and having far more impressive stats than Bale. He also did it against Europe's best, again consistently.

He also led us to league success and European glory.

Bale has a hell of a long way to go before similar price tags are mentioned. Clearly he will cost a few quid but look what Modric went for in the end.
 
Problem is comparing a predicted transfer fee with the 50m on Torres or 34m on Carroll is that is not always accurate. Chelsea were arguably signing one of the world's best centre forwards in Torres and the price reflected that. Obviously he hasn't lived up to it. Carroll was simply a huge overpayment.

Ronaldo went for 80m. After setting the PL alight consistently for several seasons and having far more impressive stats than Bale. He also did it against Europe's best, again consistently.

He also led us to league success and European glory.

Bale has a hell of a long way to go before similar price tags are mentioned. Clearly he will cost a few quid but look what Modric went for in the end.

He's at least on par with Aguero in terms of value, and then there's the PL-proven tax on top of that.
 
I'd be very happy with this scenario no shame in winning your league a getting to the champs league final.

We achieved that without Bale, though, and definitely can do so in the future as well.
 
I don't think we need anymore Nani comparisons, it serves no purpose and given where the two are at right now it seems silly.

I agree with Lawman, football already has a ridiculous relationship with money, so for those looking for an economical decision regarding Bale, you're pissing up the wrong tree.

Exactly the point I was making.
 
Would be a great successor to Giggs. If we ship off Nani in the summer perhaps we could use some of that transfer fee to have a go for Bale.
 
Can't see him going to Madrid anytime soon. They can't even afford to give Ronaldo a new contract on the spot. Then they have the issue of moving Kaka on and getting rid of his wages. Perhaps they need a top striker too. If Ronaldo leaves then that would open the door.

Just think about it. If we sign Bale now, we can recoup the entire fee when Ronaldo walks for free at the end of his contract, comes back and Bale eventually wants the move to Spain :wenger:

Seriously though, you need to take into consideration his newborn daughter and uprooting to Spain away from his entire family. You need look only as far as Ronaldo that he will get more love if he stays. Not one club will pay 50m for a winger right now, every club you can think of has more pressing problems or already has star players in that area. Between 30-40 and we are the only club that would definitely be in there. Realisticly, he will stay another year or two and FFP will drive the price down for everyone, as he won't stay forever.
 
It's baffling you think he's a "hotter property" than Gotze or Neymar. You really do fall for the PL hype hook, line and sinker.

Stop being silly!! Bale is better than those names you just mentioned. Stop being a FM muppet.
 
Seeing that Bale thrives on being Spurs' Ronaldo with all the freedom in terms of positioning, he can go on the left, on the right, in the center.He can take free kicks etc etc ... Going to Madrid will not be good for him from a personal POV because over there Ronaldo is the boss, he will have to be a lot more disciplined about his positioning than at Spurs.
He would have to play with far less freedom, he would go back as a pure wide man and the current Bale needs more than just being a typical wide hugging the touchline.
 
When? Give us some examples.

Spurs are a aone man team at the minute. He's winning games on his own.

In the first half of the 10/11 season when Nani was delivering game after game with goals and assists, him and Berbatov carried the team till Rooney returned from the contract saga.

I don't understand the Bale hype at all. He has been marked out by the poorest of fullbacks over the last couple of years. I remember Paul Konchesky not letting him touch the ball couple of years ago. Ripping apart a Maicon who was already on the decline doesn't get much credit. He is scoring goals in a league where not one team has a stable and solid defense, hardly a big deal. I would not bank on him against any top fullback in the world, while wingers like Ribery, Di Maria and Reus are head and shoulders ahead of him and would do well against most top teams.
 
Stop being silly!! Bale is better than those names you just mentioned. Stop being a FM muppet.

Why is he being silly?

He's absolutely right. A british PL player goes on a scoring run and he's almost instantly elevated to the top tier of footballers.

He's not, I don't really care if he scored twice, the keeper had a nightmare at both goals, thats what happens when you're in form. Soon the hysteria will die down before he gets on another scoring run and it kicks back up again.
 
Wonder how many he'd score for Barca or Madrid against the minor Spanish teams who don't just bend over for the big two, they apply the lubricant as well.
 
Wonder how many he'd score for Barca or Madrid against the minor Spanish teams who don't just bend over for the big two, they apply the lubricant as well.

Hardly, more teams have taken the game to those two this season than the past ones, and the level of defending couldn't be any worse than it is in the Premier League.
 
Why is he being silly?

He's absolutely right. A british PL player goes on a scoring run and he's almost instantly elevated to the top tier of footballers.

He's not, I don't really care if he scored twice, the keeper had a nightmare at both goals, thats what happens when you're in form. Soon the hysteria will die down before he gets on another scoring run and it kicks back up again.

No british players that dont play for United get this label. But i bet you if he was doing this in a United shirt... You couldn't tell a damn person on here that this lad playing for Dortmund was a better play or just another Robinho v2 in Brazil. All i'm trying to get across is people need to watch him and start being real instead off making opinions because he plays for a priemier league club thats mot United and doing well..
 
Why is he being silly?

He's absolutely right. A british PL player goes on a scoring run and he's almost instantly elevated to the top tier of footballers.

He's not, I don't really care if he scored twice, the keeper had a nightmare at both goals, thats what happens when you're in form. Soon the hysteria will die down before he gets on another scoring run and it kicks back up again.

Yep look at Mata, similar age, similar level team, same freedom to attack, albeit he doesn't defend as well, and Mata has produced more goals/assists than him. Yet whilst mata hasn't gone upraised its Bale who's getting all the hype. I guess you expect some bias given he's british, but we overhype our players so much. Baines best left back in the world is touted a fair bit, Hart best goalie in the world was going around for a bit, and now Bale being just behind Ronaldo and Messi.
 
No british players that dont play for United get this label. But i bet you if he was doing this in a United shirt... You couldn't tell a damn person on here that this lad playing for Dortmund was a better play or just another Robinho v2 in Brazil. All i'm trying to get across is people need to watch him and start being real instead off making opinions because he plays for a priemier league club thats mot United and doing well..

He's not the first one though, is he? And it's not us who are responsible for hyping him up, it's the stupid British media. There have been journos comparing him to Ronaldo when he had played the same amount of games, without considering that Ronaldo was much younger, and this could well be as far as Bale goes. One was an all round attacking player with loads of potential and explosiveness, other is a one trick pony. You can't be surprised when many come and disagree to that sort of nonsense.
 
In the first half of the 10/11 season when Nani was delivering game after game with goals and assists, him and Berbatov carried the team till Rooney returned from the contract saga.

I don't understand the Bale hype at all. He has been marked out by the poorest of fullbacks over the last couple of years. I remember Paul Konchesky not letting him touch the ball couple of years ago. Ripping apart a Maicon who was already on the decline doesn't get much credit. He is scoring goals in a league where not one team has a stable and solid defense, hardly a big deal. I would not bank on him against any top fullback in the world, while wingers like Ribery, Di Maria and Reus are head and shoulders ahead of him and would do well against most top teams.

He had a fine start to that season, but he wasn't carrying the side, we had a much better squad than Spurs. And look where he is now - did well, then for whatever reason he's tailed off, to the extent that he's not an automatic first choice anymore at the time he should be reaching his peak.

The "Bale hype" is because he's repeatedly delivering now, having looked like he had the raw potential and attributes over the last few years. Nobody is telling you he's world class because he butchered Maicon - that was years ago - but clearly Bale is a much better player than that now. He's done plenty since then.

Again, Konchesky marking him out of a game "a couple of years ago"? Are you suggesting he's the same player as he was then? So what? Players get better and develop - and he's developed a huge amount in the last couple of years.

Ronaldo had innefective games - he was accused of being a show pony, then all of a sudden he matured and became arguably the best player in the world.

The nature of this is that people will always bang on about what player x, y and z have done in the past. Franck Ribery might do well in the PL - again, so what? Does that mean Bale isn't the real deal?

And as for the PL defences, I presume this means Rooney and RVP aren't "top players" when they're banging in the goals. One thing I consider is how often players who struggle in the PL go to Spain and suddenly start scoring - Forlan and Kanoute spring to mind immediately.

Bottom line is he has it all to prove - but he's perobably earned his chance at a top club, and it'll be interesting to see what he does.
 
Yep look at Mata, similar age, similar level team, same freedom to attack, albeit he doesn't defend as well, and Mata has produced more goals/assists than him. Yet whilst mata hasn't gone upraised its Bale who's getting all the hype. I guess you expect some bias given he's british, but we overhype our players so much. Baines best left back in the world is touted a fair bit, Hart best goalie in the world was going around for a bit, and now Bale being just behind Ronaldo and Messi.

What you said is absolutely spot on. I hope everyone reads your post.

If anyone chooses to gloss over it, they're simply in denial. I used Mata as my example previously because it's one of the most obvious examples. People should start judging for themselves and stop letting Sky tell them who's the best and all that carry on.
 
Hardly, more teams have taken the game to those two this season than the past ones, and the level of defending couldn't be any worse than it is in the Premier League.

Most small time Spanish teams are like the latin tennis players who face Nadal. They're too much in awe to put up a fight. Like when United got turned over by Burnley a couple or three years back early doors in the season after they came up - just wouldn't happen in Spain.
 
Why is he being silly?

He's absolutely right. A british PL player goes on a scoring run and he's almost instantly elevated to the top tier of footballers.

He's not, I don't really care if he scored twice, the keeper had a nightmare at both goals, thats what happens when you're in form. Soon the hysteria will die down before he gets on another scoring run and it kicks back up again.

So when does he start getting credit and when should he be considered the "real" thing? Does he have to bag 40 goals?

I don't understand why he shoudnt get credit for what he's doing, even if he's not the next Ronaldo, he's clearly a very good player. He's good to watch and entertaining so I dont see the need to give him stick.

Seems a lot of football fans in general will bang on about players from inferior leagues hundreds of miles away having seen a clip on Youtube, but when they can watch real talent week in week out they want to dismiss it as a "fluke".

I had my doubts about Bale a few years ago when people were keen to tell me he'd be a great player. Having seen how much he's come on in the last few years I'm much more inclined to believe it.
 
Yep look at Mata, similar age, similar level team, same freedom to attack, albeit he doesn't defend as well, and Mata has produced more goals/assists than him. Yet whilst mata hasn't gone upraised its Bale who's getting all the hype. I guess you expect some bias given he's british, but we overhype our players so much. Baines best left back in the world is touted a fair bit, Hart best goalie in the world was going around for a bit, and now Bale being just behind Ronaldo and Messi.

Good grief... Its like we are thick!! I dont think a journo in england or a person on redcafe is going to hav a bad word to say about Mata. Maybe we should make a thread on him and say he'a worth £50m. At the start of the season people were calling him an early candidate for player of the season not his fault Chelsea have fluctuated as usual. If anything can we stop with the comparisons.
 
No british players that dont play for United get this label. But i bet you if he was doing this in a United shirt... You couldn't tell a damn person on here that this lad playing for Dortmund was a better play or just another Robinho v2 in Brazil. All i'm trying to get across is people need to watch him and start being real instead off making opinions because he plays for a priemier league club thats mot United and doing well..

Don't think it's just that he plays for an English club. Jack Wilshere's name is exalted almost unanimously on this forum, though this is easily explained by the number of people who are sympathetic towards Arsenal for reasons that are opaque to me.

But clearly it's something else too, that irks people about him, and it's not hard to guess what it is if you just read the comments. His celebration, his haircut, the fact that he has a footballing idol(making him a completely unique in that regard), the fact that he's the spawn of Satan etc. Basically anything other than what matters will do.

Only rarely will people try to justify their disapprobation with anything other than the above, and if they do it's only replaced by far worse frivolity, masquerading as serious, stat-driven analysis.

Is it really, easier to believe that the entire league has gone down the tubes, rather than admit that Bale just might actually be a very good footballer?
 
He had a fine start to that season, but he wasn't carrying the side, we had a much better squad than Spurs. And look where he is now - did well, then for whatever reason he's tailed off, to the extent that he's not an automatic first choice anymore at the time he should be reaching his peak.

The "Bale hype" is because he's repeatedly delivering now, having looked like he had the raw potential and attributes over the last few years. Nobody is telling you he's world class because he butchered Maicon - that was years ago - but clearly Bale is a much better player than that now. He's done plenty since then.

Again, Konchesky marking him out of a game "a couple of years ago"? Are you suggesting he's the same player as he was then? So what? Players get better and develop - and he's developed a huge amount in the last couple of years.

Ronaldo had innefective games - he was accused of being a show pony, then all of a sudden he matured and became arguably the best player in the world.

The nature of this is that people will always bang on about what player x, y and z have done in the past. Franck Ribery might do well in the PL - again, so what? Does that mean Bale isn't the real deal?

And as for the PL defences, I presume this means Rooney and RVP aren't "top players" when they're banging in the goals. One thing I consider is how often players who struggle in the PL go to Spain and suddenly start scoring - Forlan and Kanoute spring to mind immediately.

Bottom line is he has it all to prove - but he's perobably earned his chance at a top club, and it'll be interesting to see what he does.

As you said, Nani wasn't carrying our team although he was still making contribution that decided the result of the game because our squad wasn't as weak as the Spurs squad and we had other performers like Berbatov who were equally important.

The Konchesky point I made was precisely to show that Bale hasn't sustained his good form over a long period of time. That incident was after he ripped apart Maicon and was called the best thing since sliced bread by all the journos, and he faltered against most fullbacks in the league. Didn't Rafael pocket him comfortably as well?

Forlan and Kanoute played at a time when Premier League actually had tough defenses who knew how to defend and give any player a rough time. Even Ronaldo at his peak found that out. That is not at all the case now, and there is hardly anything that suggests that Premier League has strong defenses. Rooney has been performing for the past 9 years, so it doesn't apply to him.

I don't think he has earned his chance at a top club yet, I mean the ones who have better players in his position. He can improve our first team and I would put him ahead of Young, who is the only genuine left winger in the team. He would not get into the first team at Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Juve or Dortmund.
 
Its one thing to claim that Bale is overrated, that much is probably true. But then going on and using Neymar, probably the most overrated player in the world based on actual achievements, as an example of a better prospect is a bit off.
 
Some of the comments I've read in this thread is nothing short of embarrassing. If we saw something like that in bluemoon/RAWK, we'd be ridiculing it and laughing at them.

Bale is a top class player, and he might even be a world class in a few years. He's a huge talent. I'd take him in a heart-beat, and anyone who claims otherwise are stubborn or lack the ability to see a talent in front of them.

Is he better than Ronaldo at the moment? No fecking way. But Bale is young - anything can happen in the next 10 years.
 
Wow. Very impressive. The dip he gets on those free kicks is outrageous.

I would be mortified if we tried to buy him though. We can't just buy up all of the good players! It feels like cheating.

Signings like Vidic, Evra and Hernandez are the ones that really make us a great club.
 
Some of the comments I've read in this thread is nothing short of embarrassing. If we saw something like that in bluemoon/RAWK, we'd be ridiculing it and laughing at them.

Bale is a top class player, and he might even be a world class in a few years. He's a huge talent. I'd take him in a heart-beat, and anyone who claims otherwise are stubborn or lack the ability to see a talent in front of them.

Is he better than Ronaldo at the moment? No fecking way. But Bale is young - anything can happen in the next 10 years.

He probably will never be as good as Ronaldo but he will still be a cracking player
 
Some of the comments I've read in this thread is nothing short of embarrassing. If we saw something like that in bluemoon/RAWK, we'd be ridiculing it and laughing at them.

Bale is a top class player, and he might even be a world class in a few years. He's a huge talent. I'd take him in a heart-beat, and anyone who claims otherwise are stubborn or lack the ability to see a talent in front of them.

Is he better than Ronaldo at the moment? No fecking way. But Bale is young - anything can happen in the next 10 years.

He is going to be 24 in a few months, I am not entirely sure how "young" that is in an age where 20 year olds are being noticed a lot.

This could well be Bale's peak for all we know. His game highly depends on his pace, probably his most lethal weapon and once he starts losing pace while getting older, he can seriously decline quickly and I don't see the required technique and skillset in his for him to adapt in a different role and still be effective.

Marco Reus is the same age as him, but he offers so much more than the usual kick and run Bale has. Excellent passer, great vision and technique to go along with pace that can hurt you and equally good goal scorer. Dortmund bought him for 14 Million pounds, and Bale seems to be somehow worthy of 40 million quid.
 
I didn't say he was overrated or that he was a better prospect/player. He's clearly a "hotter" prospect in my view though. He's apparently been signed up by Madrid/Barca dozens of times in the past couple of years and you've had players from both teams talking about what a fantastic talent he is, and that's simply because both teams are desperate to get him because he's such a "hot property" that they can't miss out on. Bale on the other hand is just another great PL talent they want to snap up. Hottest property in world football...it's insane.

Gotze, Neymar, Bale - they're all overhyped, who gives a feck. Gotze is the best German talent since Beckenbauer they say. Neymar's just behind Ronaldo and Messi. Bale's already better than Ronaldo. It's all nonsense. It's jut funny that some people only take note of their own league's hype and so fail to see the absurdity of it all.
 
I don't think we need anymore Nani comparisons, it serves no purpose and given where the two are at right now it seems silly.

I agree with Lawman, football already has a ridiculous relationship with money, so for those looking for an economical decision regarding Bale, you're pissing up the wrong tree.

Nani was once himself capable of reaching Bale's level and beyond. Sadly while one has gone on to become one of the best wingers in the world the other's development looks to be going no where, and looks seriously stagnant.

Classic case of the mental area of football playing a huge role in how a player ends up.
 
I didn't say he was overrated or that he was a better prospect/player. He's clearly a "hotter" prospect in my view though. He's apparently been signed up by Madrid/Barca dozens of times in the past couple of years and you've had players from both teams talking about what a fantastic talent he is, and that's simply because both teams are desperate to get him because he's such a "hot property" that they can't miss out on. Bale on the other hand is just another great PL talent they want to snap up. Hottest property in world football...it's insane.

Gotze, Neymar, Bale - they're all overhyped, who gives a feck. Gotze is the best German talent since Beckenbauer they say. Neymar's just behind Ronaldo and Messi. Bale's already better than Ronaldo. It's all nonsense. It's jut funny that some people only take note of their own league's hype and so fail to see the absurdity of it all.

Who are these people you talk off??? The same people that are all o er this Bales hype are probably the same people that are on the Gotze, Reus and Neymar hype in their own contructive thread.
 
Gotze, Neymar, Bale - they're all overhyped, who gives a feck. Gotze is the best German talent since Beckenbauer they say. Neymar's just behind Ronaldo and Messi. Bale's already better than Ronaldo. It's all nonsense. It's jut funny that some people only take note of their own league's hype and so fail to see the absurdity of it all.

I don't think that it is absurd to believe that Bale can be a top 10 player in world football; or that he would be a crucial player for us; or that he will cost upwards of 40m to buy; or that this club would be interested in paying that for him.
 
As you said, Nani wasn't carrying our team although he was still making contribution that decided the result of the game because our squad wasn't as weak as the Spurs squad and we had other performers like Berbatov who were equally important.

The Konchesky point I made was precisely to show that Bale hasn't sustained his good form over a long period of time. That incident was after he ripped apart Maicon and was called the best thing since sliced bread by all the journos, and he faltered against most fullbacks in the league. Didn't Rafael pocket him comfortably as well?

Forlan and Kanoute played at a time when Premier League actually had tough defenses who knew how to defend and give any player a rough time. Even Ronaldo at his peak found that out. That is not at all the case now, and there is hardly anything that suggests that Premier League has strong defenses. Rooney has been performing for the past 9 years, so it doesn't apply to him.

I don't think he has earned his chance at a top club yet, I mean the ones who have better players in his position. He can improve our first team and I would put him ahead of Young, who is the only genuine left winger in the team. He would not get into the first team at Barca, Madrid, Bayern, Juve or Dortmund.

I think its unfair to expect a player of 21 to "sustain" great form. My point was that at that stage, he may not have been particularly effective - having been a full back for most of his career before, its hardly unexpected - but since then he'd improved immesurably. As an example, how do you think Konchesky would do against him now?

You're ignoring the obvious point. The vast majority of players who end up being considered in the "world class" bracket don't burst onto the scene as world beaters. Most take time to develop and learn the game.

You're right that he has to sustain this form - he may not do, but you could say that about any player, even the great ones, early in their career so I don't see your point. Any young player who has a good season will raise questions about whether they can keep it going.

My point about Rooney and RVP stands - they play in the same league as Gareth Bale so your point about him playing against poor defences is redundant.

You're making big calls about where he would and wouldnt get in at various clubs. I'd prefer to wait until the summer and see what happens because I suspect a lot of big sides will be in for him.
 
Gotze is overhyped but he is only 20 now and more importantly his game doesn't revolve around pace and athleticism that might get ruined die to one lengthy injury. Both Gotze and Wilshere have shown outstanding tactical awareness and vision for someone of that age, which is where the hype comes from. Gotze hasn't really proven himself on the top level, he was injured for most part of Dortmund's title campaign last season, and still has a long way to go in his International career, but he has formed which IMO is the currently the best partnership in Europe, with Reus. They have been absolutely delightful to watch a lot of times, and the interplay is outstanding. If he carries the same chemistry with Reus to the National team, we can see him doing well there as well.

Right now Ribery is the best winger in the world if you don't count Ronaldo, and Bale is not even close to him in my book.
 
He is going to be 24 in a few months, I am not entirely sure how "young" that is in an age where 20 year olds are being noticed a lot.

This could well be Bale's peak for all we know. His game highly depends on his pace, probably his most lethal weapon and once he starts losing pace while getting older, he can seriously decline quickly and I don't see the required technique and skillset in his for him to adapt in a different role and still be effective.

Marco Reus is the same age as him, but he offers so much more than the usual kick and run Bale has. Excellent passer, great vision and technique to go along with pace that can hurt you and equally good goal scorer. Dortmund bought him for 14 Million pounds, and Bale seems to be somehow worthy of 40 million quid.

That argument is simply ridiculous - you could say that about any player in the world at any point.

You could just as accurately say he might become even better.

You think Reus is a better player - fair enough. Perhaps Real Madrid will go for him instead - but what would Dortmund want for him? Certainly more than the £14 million they paid - maybe around the £30 - £40 million mark?
 
I think its unfair to expect a player of 21 to "sustain" great form. My point was that at that stage, he may not have been particularly effective - having been a full back for most of his career before, its hardly unexpected - but since then he'd improved immesurably. As an example, how do you think Konchesky would do against him now?

You're ignoring the obvious point. The vast majority of players who end up being considered in the "world class" bracket don't burst onto the scene as world beaters. Most take time to develop and learn the game.

You're right that he has to sustain this form - he may not do, but you could say that about any player, even the great ones, early in their career so I don't see your point. Any young player who has a good season will raise questions about whether they can keep it going.

My point about Rooney and RVP stands - they play in the same league as Gareth Bale so your point about him playing against poor defences is redundant.

You're making big calls about where he would and wouldnt get in at various clubs. I'd prefer to wait until the summer and see what happens because I suspect a lot of big sides will be in for him.

I am not saying he should have played at the current level when he was 21, but the problem is that his career curve is no different from players like Nani to me, except that Nani enjoyed top form once upon a time, and bale is doing that now. It's nothing more than the flavour of the month. Saying he is worth 40s and 50s of million pounds and ready for a top club based on that is way over the top.

The claims I make are not really that big. I don't see him fitting at Barca at all and they already seem to be tracking Neymar. Madrid have Di Maria and Ronaldo, Bayern have Ribery, Dortmund have Reus and Juve play a narrow formation and won't sacrifice a CM to play a winger.

As for Rooney and RVP, do you think Rooney is currently one of the best strikers in the world? We bought RVP for 20 odd million and even that was deemed overpriced by many here who are comfortable in saying that Bale deserves 40, so I don't see where the comparison is coming from.