Player Watch: Gareth Bale - Retires

[spids]

I don't think Bale would take a 2-year contract, best for all parties to do it on a loan basis, as at the end Bale is a free agent and will get one last massive payday, assuming that he is still fit and plays well for whoever he goes on loan to.

We all know it won't happen but this is what transfer windows are all about, wild speculation, sometimes it's more enjoyable than the football itself

I disagree TBH. If a loan we would need to pay a loan fee. What is the difference between him signing a 2 year deal with us to replace the 2 year deal he has remaining with Madrid? He'd be a free agent at the end either way, only difference is with a loan he could be recalled if he hits form, and RM would earn from his image rights instead of us.

 

[yankspurs]

Let me say this: I want Bale back. Bring him home and let him enjoy his football again. That being said, if I were Bale would I come back now and get paid less? Fuck no. I‘d want to be paid the remainder of whats owed to me before going somewhere for at most 1/3 of my prior contract.

He’s playing this perfectly and Madrid are running out of options. Zidane cant stand the sight of him. They’ll have to buy out the rest of his contract paying him 60m up front and let him go on a free this summer, subsidize at least 40m of is wages for a 2 yr loan or he sees out his contract.

 

[spids]

He’s in a bit of a no win situation.

He stays and hopes that ZZ goes and he gets an opportunity, which isn’t that likely.

He moves, becomes the highest paid player at a club and has huge expectation lumped upon him. Whatever he does at a new club probably won’t ever be good enough. Does he want to take that risk?

He is more in a win-win scenario than a lose-lose one:

• He stays and he gets £62.4M for training for 2 hours a day and playing gold in a lovely climate for the next 22 months.
• He leaves, he will earn the same if not more, get a new adventure and play football again.

Whilst he probably has fallen out of love with football (as many pro-footballers do) and seems keen to see if he can play golf professionally, I think there is a nagging doubt that he knows he only has two years left as a top football player. He has won 4 CL's, which is incredible. The only thing in football he will want to do is play in a major tournament again for Wales. If Giggs came out and said if Bale is not playing regularly then he won't get picked for Wales I think that could change things.

 

[George94]

Let me say this: I want Bale back. Bring him home and let him enjoy his football again.

That being said, if I were Bale would I come back now and get paid less? Fuck that. I‘d want to be paid the remainder of whats owed to me before going somewhere for at most 1/3 of my prior contract. He’s playing this perfectly and Madrid are running out of options. Zidane cant stand the sight of him. They’ll have to buy out the rest of his contract and let him go on a free. Or they’ll have to heavily subsidize his wages on a loan.

Even if Madrid loaned him to us until the end of his contract, with us only paying £200k of his £600k a week contract - they're saving money.

They're not playing him and just by Bale being there, he's making a mockery of Real Madrid. I'm quite enjoying it - can't stand that club! ?

 

[Spurs' Pipe Dreams]

I disagree TBH. If a loan we would need to pay a loan fee. What is the difference between him signing a 2 year deal with us to replace the 2 year deal he has remaining with Madrid? He'd be a free agent at the end either way, only difference is with a loan he could be recalled if he hits form, and RM would earn from his image rights instead of us.

We wouldn't have to pay a loan fee, there would be no point if we're doing it to take part of his wages on.

Why would he come to us for two years on a deal for £300k if he's a free agent? Other clubs will offer much much more than that

 

[JCRD]

But the ideas people are putting out there result in Bale NOT being out of pocket. It’s all a question of how desperate Madrid are to reduce their costs (I.e. subsidise his wages at a new club) and Bale being interested in playing again - provided he still gets the cash he’s contractually entitled too.

All the noises from his camp are that “I expect full cash”. Now, he may be open to a move if Real and another club find a way to engineer up a mix of new wages/sign-on bonuses/Madrid subsidies that gives him his full cash.

My personal view is that Bale would be open to a move if he gets his full cash but the public stance (for Madrid’s benefit) is that he’s perfectly happy to sit out his contract and not be ‘keen’ on playing his part on the pitch while not incurring fines. At some point it is rationale for Madrid, in the short-term, to subsidise 99.9% of his wages as it saves them money and they aren’t really missing out on a player as he doesn’t play anyway. It’s just wildly embarrassing for them and sets a deeply unhelpful precedent for the next time. I suspect Levy (if he and Jose are up for Bale) are fully supportive of the Bale camp’s stance. It’s just a question of how far Madrid are willing to subsidise and how much total contract cost that Levy could justify for Bale’s services for a couple of years e.g. £200K/week + £20m sign-on and probably zero sell-on value.

In the end I think the gap will be too much for Spurs and Madrid to get there but it’s not completely out of the question. It just depends on how much embarrassment Madrid can stomach.

I’m surprised that Gareth doesn’t seem to have that competitive edge anymore.
Id expect that the desire to compete, to win would still be there, and that he would want to play somewhere else, motivated to be the best (and also prove Zidane wrong). He’s the wrong side of 30 so doesn’t have that long left at the top level

That doesn’t mean he has to go where Madrid want him to go. There are options but Gareth has to compromise if he wants a say in it.

If he rides out his contract at Madrid, that will be his last contract in Europe (he might get an offer from the MLS /China/UAE).
But sitting on his arse and taking the money is effectively retiring - no one else will touch him. It’s the same with Ozil.

I think he’s being badly advised

Lets not forget though that Bale has pretty much won everything there is to win - from a club football perspective and he wont win anything at an international level with Wales

Now he could come back to the PL to win the PL but dont think he cares about that and where would he go - Manure perhaps may buy him given they didnt get Sancho and have around 80m burning in their pockets?

Lets not forget, football is still a job, yes you want to win stuff but once you have won stuff youre pretty much in a job. I dont think he is necessarily badly advised, he is a grown man, im sure he knows what he is doing and he seems so pissed off that he is now trolling them... which is fair enough.

 

[Hoopspur]

Questions are would spurs pay 60m for Bale? Do RM want rid if poss?

If yes to both questions then we buy Bale for £30m and RM then subsidise his wages by that amount. It’s swings and roundabouts but they will probably be pleased to be rid.

 

[Cochise]

I think he's a spent force. He's not been at the top of his game for a couple of years, the game has left him behind, he's just a name now. We'd be wasting money trying to sign him.

 

[DCSPUR]

Suspect Levy would invest no more than a portion of salary - and that would be 1 pound below Kane - approx 200K pw.
Bale would expect Real to top up the full amount -
plus addressing any tax issues
Real, at most will save 10 million a year over the two year period - but having said that
have a funny feeling the Bale family doesn't want to leave at all - think he will stay the 2 years no matter what and then head to Miami or LA and the MLS....he is just adding time to his career and could probably play another 3-4 years stateside.

 

[Spurs Lodge Kittens]

Two year loan. We pay half his wages - would work out as us forking out 30m over that time. Real SAVE 30m. No way Real are going to find anyone to buy him so take it or leave it. Perhaps we throw in a 5m loan fee just to take the mickey. Welcome home, Gareth.

(this scenario only has legs in October at the very end of the transfer window when Real are backed into a corner)

 

[Gassin's finest]

 

[stewartd]

Are we certain that, if we take away the romantic/ emotional aspect of him returning, and given his age and injury history, he would actually improve our squad enough to justify what it would cost to get him?

yes

 

[tiger666]

Two year loan. We pay half his wages - would work out as us forking out 30m over that time. Real SAVE 30m. No way Real are going to find anyone to buy him so take it or leave it. Perhaps we throw in a 5m loan fee just to take the mickey. Welcome home, Gareth.

(this scenario only has legs in October at the very end of the transfer window when Real are backed into a corner)

It also only has legs if he wants come.

 

[cider spurs]

Two year loan. We pay half his wages - would work out as us forking out 30m over that time. Real SAVE 30m. No way Real are going to find anyone to buy him so take it or leave it. Perhaps we throw in a 5m loan fee just to take the mickey. Welcome home, Gareth.

(this scenario only has legs in October at the very end of the transfer window when Real are backed into a corner)

It also only has legs if he wants come.

...and we ignore the fact that others might want parity to Bale's 300k we'd be paying him.

 

[fortworthspur]

any chance this actually happens? only thing I can find is in The Mirror

 

[SlotBadger]

any chance this actually happens? only thing I can find is in The Mirror

Lucky you. I looked in the mirror and I still can't find it.

 

[HedgieSpur]

I think he's a spent force. He's not been at the top of his game for a couple of years, the game has left him behind, he's just a name now. We'd be wasting money trying to sign him.

Agreed. I also haven't been impressed with his conduct (I know many fans disagree with me on this). Most of all, I think he's lost his desire, hence him wanting to go to China in the first place

 

[cider spurs]

Lucky you. I looked in the mirror and I still can't find it.

It was staring you right in the face.

 

[fortworthspur]

Lucky you. I looked in the mirror and I still can't find it.

well actually its a quote from Andros Tottenham saying he thinks Bale would like to come home and "be the man" at Tottenham. In other words, nothing.

 

[elfy]

Only Bale can make this transfer happen. And for that to work, he has to be realistic. If he has a desire to come back to us, new training ground, new stadium, José as manager, Kane up front, opportunity to go down in history as the player who made us great again etc etc then he will.

I doubt he has that desire. I doubt he’s that realistic with his demands. I even doubt he’s the player we all remember. 2yrs ago I was fully behind this, and although I’d love to see it happen and evolve in to what we all dream, I very much doubt it ever will happen. Massive shame, and he will be remembered for his ‘lost years’ rather than what he actually achieved.

Bit unfair, Bale could never kick a ball again and he would be remembered as one of the best and most successful players of his generation, the most expensive player in the world and winners medals for:

4 Champions Leagues
2 La Liga titles
1 Spanish Cup, 1 Spanish Super cup
4 World Club Cups
3 Uefa Supercups

An outstanding career by anyone's standards, questioning his desire as he enters the vinegar strokes of his career is more than a little disrespectful.

I would love to see him come back to Spurs, but realistically he has absolutely nothing to prove. This point in his career is about earning as much cash as possible before retiring, he has achieved pretty much everything he possibly can achieve in football. If I were him, my only footballing ambitions would be around the National Team in club terms, he is done.