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| Gareth Bale |
Real have made their move for their long-time target and Bale is
determined to complete the transfer. He wants to play Champions League
football, which Tottenham cannot offer after they finished fifth in the
Premier League last season, but the allure of Real runs some way deeper.
Bale
recognises Real as one of the world's leading clubs, capable of
competing for the grandest prizes. In the event of leaving Tottenham,
whom he joined from Southampton in 2007, he has always dreamed of
playing for the Bernabéu club.
He has enjoyed his six years at
White Hart Lane, where he is feted by the supporters, but feels that the
time is right to move on. It is impossible to dispute the value and
service that he has given to the club, with last season being his best.
The 24-year-old scored 26 goals in all competitions and swept the
individual awards, being named as the PFA's player and young player of
the year and the Football Writers' Association player of the year.
Bale
is horrified by Levy's intransigence. The chairman has a reputation as a
tough negotiator but to Bale, the offer from Real is one that should be
impossible to refuse. The world record transfer is Cristiano Ronaldo's
£80m move to Real from Manchester United in 2009.
Bale cannot
believe that Levy is blocking what could be a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity, with the chairman merely maintaining that his prized asset
is not for sale. Bale's worth to André Villas-Boas's team is obvious but
the Wales international feels that there comes a point when it is
unfair to hold somebody to the terms of his contract. His deal has three
years to run.
The situation has got under Bale's skin and it is
threatening to turn ugly. He has had a glute muscle problem, which has
restricted him in pre-season, but it has come to feel slightly
convenient as he has been in no frame of mind to play. Bale featured in
the club's opening friendly against Swindon Town but he missed the game
against Colchester United and, although he travelled to Hong Kong for
the Asia Trophy, he has not trained and he missed Tottenham's matches
against Sunderland and South China.
Villas-Boas said after his
team's 6-0 win over South China on Saturday that he expected Bale to
return to training on Wednesday and be available for the friendly
against Monaco at the Stade Louis II on Saturday. But it is highly
unlikely that he will play.
Villas-Boas has been exasperated at
the persistent questions over Bale's future but it felt as though his
tone had changed at his press conference following the South China
match. He has toed the line about Bale not being for sale and repeatedly
stated that his information is that it is impossible for a deal to be
struck with a rival club.
But in Hong Kong on Saturday, he was
reticent, refusing to deny that Real had made a bid for Bale and also
refusing to be drawn on reports from Spain that the player was pressing
for the move. "I don't want to comment on anything like that,"
Villas-Boas said. "I cannot speak about anything." The manager gave the
same response to a question about Real's conduct.
Tottenham used
Bale at a promotional launch for their new kit at the beginning of the
month and he talked of wanting to help the club finish in the Champions
League places, which raised hopes that he could yet snub Real's
advances.
Only on Friday, Villas-Boas said that talks were
"ongoing" with Bale's representative about the possibility of the player
signing a new deal at White Hart Lane. But there have been no such
negotiations and Bale's mind is made up about his next move.
Tottenham
continue to press ahead with business for the new season and they are
close to finalising the transfer of the €30m-rated Valencia striker
Roberto Soldado. They have already signed the midfielder Paulinho for a
club-record £17m from Corinthians and the winger Nacer Chadli for £7m
from FC Twente.
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