According to reports in England and Spain, Tottenham Hotspur have turned down a world record £82m cash bid from Real Madrid for Gareth Bale. Reportedly, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy wants £100m for the winger.
The Mirror quotes a Real Madrid source as saying:
“Bale is the only high-profile player we are pursuing.
“Ancelotti will play him on the left and Cristiano Ronaldo on the right in a 4-3-3 formation.
“There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Bale will be a Real player this summer.
“If that means he has to put in a transfer request to force the issue then that is what we expect he will do.”
For that to come true, Real will have to increase their bid. The Sun reports that they are putting together a cash + player deal valued at £95m. The Spanish side are prepared to offer £51m cash plus £25m-rated Angel Di Maria and £19m Fabio Coentrao. Can Levy really turn down that kind of offer?
The other question is whether Bale is really worth that sort of money? One person who thinks so is former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho who said recently:
‘He has an unbelievable shot, an unbelievable action, scores last-minutes goals that win games. So I think if you forget Messi and Ronaldo, the kid is fantastic. When I read some numbers I think this kid will be worth every pound that people are speaking about.’
Bale has three years left on his current deal and he might have to turn in a transfer request to force the deal through. But it looks like, unlike some of the other transfer sagas this summer, that this one is coming to an end soon.