Will Gareth Bale leave Tottenham this summer?

Spanish Daily Marca claims that Gareth Bale is set for a move to Real Madrid

This summer seems to be the summer of the transfer saga. We have already had the Wayne Rooney saga, the Luis Suarez saga, and the Cesc Fabregas.

Now according to Spanish daily Marca, we will be subjected to the Gareth Bale saga.

Agreed

Marca, who are based in Madrid have reported that Gareth Bale has agreed a six-year-contract with Real Madrid, with Los Blancos paying around £70million, and Portuguese full-back Fabio Coentrao for the Welsh superstar.

They also claimed that Bale would ask to join the Spanish giants, rather than handing in a transfer request.

Denied

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas moved to deny that a deal had been agreed, without actually stating that Bale is not for sale.

However, Villas-Boas told Sky Sports: “On Gareth, I want to repeat what I was telling you last season and what I was telling you from the beginning of (pre-season) so I cannot extend myself.

“He is a player that we are willing to continue to have, he’s a Tottenham player, he’s one of the most fantastic players in the world at the moment and we are counting on him for the future.”

Star

Last season Gareth Bale was one of the shining lights in the Premier League, as he plundered 21 goals in just 33 Premier League appearances last season, mostly from a midfield position, although some goals did come from Bale playing in the second striker role behind the lone striker.

His form was always going to attract interest from elsewhere. The campaign was Bale’s breakthrough season really. It was the season that he finally produced the goods on a consistent basis.

Previous seasons he has shown flashes of what he could do, but last season was by far the most productive of his career.

United or Real

Both Real Madrid and Manchester United are believed to be chasing Bale. However, it looks like Real would have the edge over United when it comes to a bidding war for the Welshman’s services. I am sure that United boss David Moyes would love Gareth Bale in his team, but it looks very unlikely to happen at the moment.

Bale has expressed his desire to play abroad in the past and a move to Real Madrid would obviously prove hard to resist for most players.

Money

Tottenham have a far smaller wage budget than Real Madrid, so Real would be able to offer Bale far more money than he is currently collecting at White Hart Lane. Whether money will be Bale’s motivation this early on in his football career is unknown.

Happy

Gareth Bale has never actually came out and stated that he wants to leave Spurs. He seems to be happy and enjoying his football in north London. He is a superstar in the Premier League, but if he moved to La Liga he would have to compete against the likes of Christian Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for the limelight.

It looks very unlikely that he will ask to leave Tottenham this summer or declare the fact that he wants to join Real Madrid.  I think it is just a case of the Madrid-based press attempting to unsettle the player and help Los Blancos sign him at some point.

Future

No doubt, Bale wants to be playing Champions League football in the near future. Spurs missed out on Champions League qualification on the last day of last season. I do think that a move away from Tottenham is more likely to happen next summer.

Next summer Bale will have just two years left on his contract and Real are more likely to have a bid accepted, probably far less than the £70million, plus Coentrao that they are believed to have bid this summer.

It has happened before when Luka Modric came close to joining Real, only for Los Blancos to leave it until the next summer to sign the player. It could be a case of history repeating itself.

Surprise

I would be very surprised if Gareth Bale left Tottenham and joined Real Madrid this summer. If he does leave for foreign shores then the Premier League will certainly be worse off for the absence of his electrifying talents.

Will Gareth Bale leave Tottenham this summer?