Embattled Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has chosen to return to Tottenham Hotspur instead of joining Manchester United. The agent of the 31-year-old Wales international, Jonathan Barnett, confirmed that ‘Tottenham is where Bale wants to be’.
Gareth Bale joined Tottenham from Southampton in 2007. He spent 6 years of his football career at the club before he made a record-breaking move to Real Madrid in 2013.
According to reports, Real Madrid paid €100.8 million to bring the Welshman to Spain. The deal made Bale the most expensive player in the world then, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo who joined Madrid from Manchester United in 2009 for €94 million.
Though Bale joined Madrid when Ronaldo was still reigning at the club and had to dwell under his shadow, the winger still managed to give a very good account of himself which proved that he was not a pushover.
Hence, when Ronaldo left Madrid for Juventus in 2018, it was expected that Bale would step into the shoes of the Portuguese football icon who won four Ballon d’Or at the club which he added to the one he won at United. However, it was not to be as the manager of Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, made it obvious that the service of the Welshman was no longer needed at the club.
The intention of the French tactician towards the Real Madrid star became even clearer in the 2019-2020 season as he managed to use Bale in only 20 matches, mostly from the bench.
Prior to the season, the Real Madrid star was on the verge of joining a Chinese club but the move was reportedly blocked by Madrid leaving Bale to continue rusting away on Madrid’s bench.
Based on all the maltreatment the 31-year-old right-winger has been going through under the leadership of Zinedine Zidane, all the representatives of the player have been trying to get a good deal that can lure the player out of the club.
As it stands, the two years that are left on his contract with Madrid might not be exhausted before he leaves because his agent has confirmed that talks are ongoing between Bale’s representatives and that of Tottenham.
“Gareth still loves Spurs,” Bale’s agent told BBC Sport. “We are talking [Spurs, Madrid, and Bale’s representative]. It’s where he wants to be.”
A manager like Jose Mourinho who is currently in charge of Tottenham would not mind having a big name like Bale returning to the club this summer. Mourinho is a coach who was brought to Tottenham to win titles and Bale is a player who can show up in a big game and win a trophy-winning match for any coach.
Besides, Bale did not just leave Tottenham without making a mark, he left the club when he has grown to the level that he was their brightest star. Before he left Spurs, he scored a total of 56 goals and provided 58 assists in a total of 203 matches in all competitions.
