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

Amazing how he didn't show the same loyalty to the club who invested in him as a kid, and brought him through their youth ranks.:rolleyes:

Weren't Southampton skint at the time? They'd probably have driven him to London to make sure they got their transfer fee.
 
Yep I can see with Madrid having lost out to Barca on Neymar - really pushing the bale issue now. Where's they play him though - considering they just signed Isco and they have Ozil? (Not to mention Di Maria). Push Ronaldo up top?

It's my opinion of course but even if Madrid push hard I don't see it being a dead cert he'll want to go there. It's a big deal moving to a club like that and the pressure would be huge. They can turn on you quick if you're not what they expected straight away.
 
It's my opinion of course but even if Madrid push hard I don't see it being a dead cert he'll want to go there. It's a big deal moving to a club like that and the pressure would be huge. They can turn on you quick if you're not what they expected straight away.

Agreed. I'm just not sure if Tottenham will turndown a €50-60m fee? They'd have to, if they want to progress as a top 4 club but you get the sense that good business is a big priority at spurs as well.

I hope he stays in the EPL. The more superstars in the league, the better
 
I think if he's presented with a chance to join a top club while making a fortune in the process, he'll ask to leave. Do you honestly believe he could pass an opportunity to join barcelona or madrid? Why would he ?

For what it's worth i don't think we can afford him, because we won't pay silly money, but others can.

I wouldn't be too confident if i were you.

This. Glaston talks with the arrogance of a Real Madrid fan except he supports Spurs.

All of Spurs best players leave within a year or two of coming in demand of the big clubs.

It is very possible, maybe even likely he will stay another season. However, how he can be so overly confident is ludicrous. This is football.
 
Madrid already seem to be pushing hard. Their annual media tapping-up operation is in full swing.

I think I read somewhere that by 24, Ronaldo had already won the CL three league titles, an FA cup and two league cups, club World Cup and ballon D'dor with us. Bale idolises Cristiano (and previously Giggs) and he isn't going to achieve anything close to those things at Spurs. He should be looking to step up to the next level now.

That said I can't see us paying the £50-60m Levy would want and Madrid would be willing to pay though.
 
If Bale is as ambitious as he seems and if he is willing to become one of the world's best (by that I mean top 5) then going to Madrid will not help him will it ? I mean they have already a player of that type in Ronaldo, a much better player than him.How would they play with the two of them without restricting and limiting the other (in this case Bale) ?
 
I agree with kouroux's viewpoint. It's a place which can absolutely wreck your career. Although if Ancelotti rumours are true, it might not be so bad if Bale plays under Carlo. Always though Ancelotti was a good manager and I think he would be able to integrate Bale into the Madrid side. However, I am unsure how Gareth will handle the other aspects of being a Madrid player. It's a circus over there.
 
I agree with kouroux's viewpoint. It's a place which can absolutely wreck your career. Although if Ancelotti rumours are true, it might not be so bad if Bale plays under Carlo. Always though Ancelotti was a good manager and I think he would be able to integrate Bale into the Madrid side. However, I am unsure how Gareth will handle the other aspects of being a Madrid player. It's a circus over there.

That means he should be fine.
 
They finished top 4 last season...

Chelsea finished 6th last season. The way things are looking that's unlikely to happen again and that's really what freed up a top four spot.
 
Gareth Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett has admitted that it would be an 'honour' if Real Madrid were interested in his client, but says his contract is with Tottenham Hotspur.

Barnett was speaking on the Futboleros show on MarcaTV on Tuesday, and he was asked about the future of the Welsh star - who has been heavily linked with Madrid in recent days.

"If Florentino [Perez, Real president] is interested in Gareth Bale, then that would be an honour and we would listen, but his contract is with Tottenham," he said.

"But we are not free to talk to anyone."

Barnett also dismissed reports that Bale was on the verge of signing a new long-term deal with Tottenham.

"If Florentino [Perez, Real president] is interested in Gareth Bale, then that would be an honour and we would listen, but his contract is with Tottenham."
Jonathan Barnett
"No, we have not talked to anybody," he said when asked a about a possible new deal.

"I do not know if there has already been an offer. What I know is that the player has three years left on his contract."

Barnett did insist, however, that Bale is worth more than Brazilian superstar Neymar - who has just agreed a move to Barcelona, shunning the interest of Real.

"He is a much better player than Neymar, he has proven himself in one of the best leagues in the world, the Premier League," he said.

"And I would hope any club wanting him, would not want him because they lost out on Neymar but because he was first choice.

"This is all crazy, but whatever Neymar cost - Gareth Bale is worth more."
 
I just vomited into my Coco Pops!

It would be a big blow for the Premier League to lose Bale. The decline continues!
 
Don't think he would be that big a loss to the premier league. Barring having a great shot on him, I don't find him a particularly brilliant player to watch.

As for Real, if they want him, they'll get him. As simple as that, really. There's no way he's going to choose Chelsea or City over Real Madrid.
 
Don't think he would be that big a loss to the premier league. Barring having a great shot on him, I don't find him a particularly brilliant player to watch.

The player of the year leaves the premier league and it's not a big loss??
 
His agent statement was jus so gay. All that Madrid loving. Basically if the right offer comes in Bale is gone.
 
Don't think he would be that big a loss to the premier league. Barring having a great shot on him, I don't find him a particularly brilliant player to watch.

As for Real, if they want him, they'll get him. As simple as that, really. There's no way he's going to choose Chelsea or City over Real Madrid.

You forgot to mention United mate.
 
The player of the year leaves the premier league and it's not a big loss??

He wasn't the best player in the league anyway. There were two who were better than him. And while I rate him very highly, he's very much a highlights player. Great shot and all, but he does very little apart from scoring, which there's nothing wrong with except there are two other players who outscored him and created more than him, and have a better touch than him. He would be a loss but not a big one IMO.
 
He wasn't the best player in the league anyway. There were two who were better than him. And while I rate him very highly, he's very much a highlights player. Great shot and all, but he does very little apart from scoring, which there's nothing wrong with except there are two other players who outscored him and created more than him, and have a better touch than him. He would be a loss but not a big one IMO.

While I do agree that he wasnt the best player, he'd still be a major loss to the Prem. He's only going to get better with age and considering how hard he works on it, he's bound to improve in most aspects. Already is a cracking player and certainly going to get better while the same cannot be said of the 2 who were better than him this season as both RVP and Suarez are at their peak.
 
While I do agree that he wasnt the best player, he'd still be a major loss to the Prem. He's only going to get better with age and considering how hard he works on it, he's bound to improve in most aspects. Already is a cracking player and certainly going to get better while the same cannot be said of the 2 who were better than him this season as both RVP and Suarez are at their peak.

I don't think it's all that obvious that he'll continue to improve. He's getting lots of goals right now but I'm not seeing creativity in his game. For him to improve further, he'd either have to score more goals than he is currently or add a creative side to his game. I guess he could score a few more, not sure how many more though. A lot of his strikes this season have been belters, it's hard to keep that up.

As for being a major loss for the premier league, what does that statement mean? If it's for me personally, then I wouldn't care. He's not a great player to watch for me. If it's for the league as a whole, again, he's not like an Henry or Ronaldo who dominated the league or an RVP (IMO) over the last two and a bit years who did the same (to a lesser extent). He's more at the level of a Mata who is just falls a bit below that level, and like I said, he isn't great to watch IMO, which reduces how big a blow he'd be.
 
I don't think it's all that obvious that he'll continue to improve. He's getting lots of goals right now but I'm not seeing creativity in his game. For him to improve further, he'd either have to score more goals than he is currently or add a creative side to his game. I guess he could score a few more, not sure how many more though. A lot of his strikes this season have been belters, it's hard to keep that up.

As for being a major loss for the premier league, what does that statement mean? If it's for me personally, then I wouldn't care. He's not a great player to watch for me. If it's for the league as a whole, again, he's not like an Henry or Ronaldo who dominated the league or an RVP (IMO) over the last two and a bit years who did the same (to a lesser extent). He's more at the level of a Mata who is just falls a bit below that level, and like I said, he isn't great to watch IMO, which reduces how big a blow he'd be.

He's good as a pure winger for sure. Has a great cross on him, not his fault how shit the strikers at Spurs are tbf to him. He'd be having many more assists in a better team. I do agree his passing and creativity in general can improve but its only this season that he has taken up the role he has. Before that, he just played as a pure winger so its obvious it'l take time to improve the passing aspect of his game. He comes across as a very hard worker and when you do that, you reap benefits. I just dont see why he wouldnt improve his overall game while his pace and brilliant strike will always give him a very healthy goal return imo.

Regarding the loss to the prem, its in general about the quality of players. Ofcourse it wouldnt affect me or you generally but you'd want the better players to stay in the league and enhance its quality.

Just as an aside, Mata's a better player than him imo and definitely much better to watch.
 
Meh, if he does go to Madrid he'll be available for a cut price in a season or two.

I think you're right, but then I've been pretty consistently wrong about Bale over the years so what do I know :lol:
 
Why do you say that? Did he score the most goals? If not, did he create a lot of goals? If not, did he run a lot games?

He scored a lot, plenty great ones, and was the outstanding individual performer of the season. Did you miss all his heroics this year then?
 
He and Ronaldo in the same team could prove to be difficult due to their style and what they need from the team to be at their best
 
He scored a lot, plenty great ones, and was the outstanding individual performer of the season. Did you miss all his heroics this year then?

All the heroics that led Spurs to fifth place? He had a very good season, scored a good amount of goals (nothing crazy though), had very little assists as usual, and in the end didn't achieve anything with Spurs. Meanwhile, Van Persie had more goals, more assists, and he was the main reason we won a title. If he was the best player this season, surely he should have at least managed to carry Spurs into fourth place? They were close but in the end they didn't manage it.