Player Watch: Gareth Bale - Retires

[Who’s our next manager?]

It would be better than any attack in the league.

and Bale could easily play up front in Kane’s absence.

 

[nedley]

I didnt find him particularly motivated in thst interview. A couple of snippets I found quite telling.

The reaffirming 'I have a contract (albeit a normal thing to say), but certainly the part when he says "there's plenty of time (to move) left of the window or others".

That tells me he's not desperate to move.

 

[Trix]

The interview he just did with Sky Sports is exactly what he should have done months ago. Blames Madrid solely, says he wants to play and they keep blocking moves, etc.

Let's see if Madrid make a riposte. It's nowhere near as one sided as Bale is making out there. They have blocked moves, true. He's also been a bit of a dick about things though, making the situation far more difficult than it needed to be.

Don't get me wrong, I blame ZZ for creating this mess, but GB is where he is currently, partly through his own doing.

 

[thelak]

I think 2020 bale is still better than moura or lamela or whoever else is our right sided winger

Obviously not Sissoko

 

[sausage]

Agree: Very true that the circumstances and background history are totaly different.

Personally I haven´t seen any posts on this topic, so the "keeps being brought up" here at SC I don´t really get. Not saying it hasn´t been brought up, but I haven´t seen it.

It's been frequent in the Ndombele thread tbh, and possibly a few times in here, so depends on how often you keep up with either I guess

 

[jay2040]

In hindsight not letting him go on a free transfer was a massive mistake. He has cost them £30m+ this season to sit on the bench and troll them. Meanwhile covid has hit and they'll probably have to subsidise any move for him this summer, or just risk chucking another £30m in the bin.

Also no-one takes China seriously. The only way they would have had egg on their face is if they let him go and he starred in the league and CL for another top club.

It was the ideal move, I have no idea why they didn't go for it.

Element of pride i suspect!

 

[jay2040]

I didnt find him particularly motivated in thst interview. A couple of snippets I found quite telling.

The reaffirming 'I have a contract (albeit a normal thing to say), but certainly the part when he says "there's plenty of time (to move) left of the window or others".

That tells me he's not desperate to move.

Surely the fact that he spoke out is a sign in itself .
The reference to other transfer windows I took as I'm happy to pick up the cash until they are ready to let me go and I won't be forced out.

Obviously biased interpretation!

 

[soflapaul]

The odds of him coming "home" are slim but not out of the realm of possibility. The key factor is what are his prime motivators. If it is money, it is probably dead in the water unless he can leverage RM enough to allow Tottenham to be a player (which i highly doubt) There are factors though that might draw him back. I remember that his better half loved London so an X factor (or is that the X-X factor?) is the flexibility of his other half from a lifestyle factor. I suspect their lifestyle in Manchester would be outstanding regardless, but, it is Manchester. Other draws draw in Spurs favor are Mourinho as well as his past association with the club. Not sure that is anywhere near enough to offset potential financial ramifications but given how private this guy, any opinion on what drives him, outside of golf, seems to me to be conjecture. They have played their cards very close to the vest until today's interview.

 

[Hotspur33]

Trev Birch. Make it so.

 

[Clark28]

Don’t think we’re getting him BUT

Jose said how he likes to have his RW come central and allow the RB to push forward

Daydreaming about how that would look if Bale was the RW?

 

[PT]

The odds of him coming "home" are slim but not out of the realm of possibility. The key factor is what are his prime motivators. If it is money, it is probably dead in the water unless he can leverage RM enough to allow Tottenham to be a player (which i highly doubt) There are factors though that might draw him back. I remember that his better half loved London so an X factor (or is that the X-X factor?) is the flexibility of his other half from a lifestyle factor. I suspect their lifestyle in Manchester would be outstanding regardless, but, it is Manchester. Other draws draw in Spurs favor are Mourinho as well as his past association with the club. Not sure that is anywhere near enough to offset potential financial ramifications but given how private this guy, any opinion on what drives him, outside of golf, seems to me to be conjecture. They have played their cards very close to the vest until today's interview.

One factor not really discussed, is the loan. If Madrid want him out of the place to stop the stink, the club may be prepared to sub his salary to a big extent, with Spurs stumping up a hefty loan fee, maybe for longer than the one season. The marketing potential could well be a major contributory factor for Levy to sanction a move.

 

[TheChosenOne]

 

[adamsky]

The fact he says he was excited by the prospect of going to China means he only cares about the money now. Is a real shame as he could take pay cut and leave, he has so much left to offer.

 

[pedrodelawasp]

The fact he says he was excited by the prospect of going to China means he only cares about the money now. Is a real shame as he could take pay cut and leave, he has so much left to offer.

He could have been excited by the opportunity to experience a whole new culture , though of course the money would have been hugely appealing too!

 

[adamsky]

He could have been excited by the opportunity to experience a whole new culture , though of course the money would have been hugely appealing too!

Have a feeling he would have moved straight back to Cardiff as soon as he stopped getting paid

 

[KeithStone]

Let's see if Madrid make a riposte. It's nowhere near as one sided as Bale is making out there. They have blocked moves, true. He's also been a bit of a dick about things though, making the situation far more difficult than it needed to be.

Don't get me wrong, I blame ZZ for creating this mess, but GB is where he is currently, partly through his own doing.

Oh, I’ve no doubt about that at all. But he has spent far too long being passive and letting Real own the conversation. That’s led to so much speculation about his desire to play, whether he’s just about money, etc. This finally puts an answer to those questions (of sorts, at least) out there - and it was probably about as close to a “come and get me” plea as any interview is going to get.

 

[Who’s our next manager?]

I didnt find him particularly motivated in thst interview. A couple of snippets I found quite telling.

The reaffirming 'I have a contract (albeit a normal thing to say), but certainly the part when he says "there's plenty of time (to move) left of the window or others".

That tells me he's not desperate to move.

I see that comment as telling interested clubs he is willing to go anytime even if it’s towards the end of the window.

 

[BringBack_leGin]

The fact he says he was excited by the prospect of going to China means he only cares about the money now. Is a real shame as he could take pay cut and leave, he has so much left to offer.

Young man with all the money and absolutely nothing left to prove has opportunity to experience (and expose his kids to) a new culture and way of life.

Yes, the money is good, but he’s already earned a fortune. When a young lawyer or teacher goes to work in China or Australia or Singapore or the states, is that about the money or about the opportunity and life experience? Footballers are people too.

 

[SpursJord]

Lets be honest here, Given his stature in the game he could probably choose any culture or any league. However the only place he has ever seemed likely to go is the one country that could have paid him more money. Lower his demands he would have suitors in Italy, Germany & Portugal. Aswell as a different part of England. He is not making decisions based on culture.

 

[Jgplk1]

Lets be honest here, Given his stature in the game he could probably choose any culture or any league. However the only place he has ever seemed likely to go is the one country that could have paid him more money. Lower his demands he would have suitors in Italy, Germany & Portugal. Aswell as a different part of England. He is not making decisions based on culture.

That doesn't really make any sense. I've lived in Asia for almost 15 years and love it here. I wouldn't want to live back in England or Europe. Why do you assume he isn't attracted by Asian culture?

If he is interested in Asian culture, the Chinese league would be a good fit and he could earn loads of money at the same time.

Saying that, I do think money is his main motivation. He could easily go to a more competitive league and then retire in Asia.