According to Sport, Real Madrid have lowered Gareth Bale’s asking price to facilitate a move this summer. The 31-year-old has fallen out of favour at the Santiago Bernabeu and is deemed surplus to requirements by Zinedine Zidane. Tottenham have predictably been thrown into the mix by media outlets, former players and football pundits, but it’s not going to happen.
Why is Bale leaving Real?
Bale has made 251 appearances in all competitions since joining Real from Tottenham in 2013, scoring 105 goals with 68 assists, but the last few years of his stint in Spain have been disappointing due to a lack of form and playing time.
The Welsh international has made 171/266 appearances in La Liga, missing 95 games due to various injuries. Bale has to have his minutes managed (substituted on/off 87 times in 171 games) to ensure he doesn’t pick up any knocks, but his form has gone the same way of his fitness.
After scoring 15 goals in 2013/14, 13 goals in 2014/15 and 19 goals in 2015/16, Bale failed to hit double figures in three of the four seasons that followed. In 2019/20, the 31-year-old only scored two goals and made two assists in 16 Liga matches, so he’s far from influential in Madrid now.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit presented Bale with a chance to become Real’s star player, but he’s wilted under the expectation and doesn’t have a positive relationship with Zidane. Bale being dropped for big games, including the 2018 Champions League final, led to things deteriorating with Zidane and now they can no longer work together.
How much will he cost?
Sport say Bale’s asking price has dropped to €17m (£15.4m) this summer, so he wouldn’t break the bank based on his transfer fee alone. The Welshman’s wages would be a stumbling block in negotiations, however. Goal say Bale takes home £350k-per-week/£18.2m-a-year, so he’d shatter Tottenham’s wage structure.
Bale may have outgrown us too. He’s won two Liga titles, four Champions League crowns and one Copa Del Rey, so is he really going to join his former club that won’t be in the Champions League next season and haven’t won a majority trophy since he left?
In other news, Tottenham have been told how much to pay to sign Paulo Dybala