Gareth Bale - Player Thread | Page 14 | Vital Football

Gareth Bale - Player Thread

Gareth Bale could stay longer than season at Tottenham, says forward's agent
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4 hours ago4 hours ago.From the section Tottenham
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Bale originally joined Tottenham as a 17-year-old from Southampton in 2007 for an initial £5m
Gareth Bale could stay at Tottenham for longer than the season-long loan the club have agreed with Real Madrid, says the Wales international's agent.
The 31-year-old forward has rejoined Spurs having left them in 2013 for a then world record fee of £85m.
"I'm sure that if things really worked out well, we'd have no problem," said Jonathan Barnett.
"This is the club he wants to play at. I don't see any problems if he wants another year."
Bale, who was close to leaving Real Madrid for China in the summer of 2019, has a contract until 2022 with the Spanish giants and at the moment is scheduled to return at the end of the season.
Barnett, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, added: "Hopefully the subject [of returning to Real] won't come up. He will be so successful at Tottenham he'll want to stay and it will be a simple deal to do the rest."
Bale has won 13 major trophies with Real Madrid, including four Champions Leagues and two La Liga titles.
He is also the top-scoring British player in La Liga - with 80 goals and 40 assists in 171 league appearances.
"What I hope is he'll get his love back for the game and play the way he can, but it's up to him," said Barnett.
"And he's not on trial anywhere. He's achieved more than any other, I think, British footballer abroad, so I think he's fine."
Bale 'should have been treated better'
Bale has been hampered by injuries in his time at Real and was booed by sections of the Spanish club's fans during the 2018-19 season.
He also fell out of favour under manager Zinedine Zidane, who said it would be "best for everyone" if Bale left in July 2019.
"In my opinion, he wasn't treated correctly for somebody who's done so much for a great club," said Barnett. "I think that things were wrong.
"It's hard to put one finger on it but I think somebody who has achieved what he has achieved for a club, in seven years, should have been treated better.
"I don't want to blame anybody or go into it. I think what the fans did was disgraceful and the club didn't help. That's all I really want to get into."
'Spurs made the first move'
Tottenham will have to wait for Bale to make his second debut for the club as he has a knee problem sustained on Wales duty.
Spurs said they expect Bale "will be match-fit after October's international break".
Asked how the move to the north London side came about, Barnett added: "Basically it was a conversation between [Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy and myself where the subject came up, I suggested it and Daniel was interested.
"So that's basically how it was done. No magic, just long chats.
"Daniel Levy's been interested in bringing Gareth back for a long time. There was always a reason why it couldn't happen. Just this was the right moment.
"They made the move first."
 
Bale looks bemused. If I didn't know he was such a professional I wouldn't like what I am seeing.

In his head, is he on the golf course or the football pitch?
 
I think it is becoming clear that he is playing very tentatively, I'm now starting to think we won't see the best of him till maybe the end of January.
As long as Bale recognise this and doesn't get frustrated personally I'm happy to take it slowly, he can still contribute in the dressing room and he appears to have fitted in well.
 
I thought he was an arrogant idiot to take that free kick last night, so what do I know, he is hiding behind alot of first time passes he has to come on and do something special soon
 
I keep looking at Bale and wondering where his best position is nowadays. The wider he is, the less effective he is.
 
I just wonder whether there is a mental thing about injury concern. Maybe a good clattering from someone is what is needed so he can pick himself up and realise he isn’t going to always get injured so needn’t hesitate every time when challenged/challenging. Of course it pre-supposes that he doesn’t get injured in such a clattering!!!
 
Hope I am wrong but just don't see him getting back to even 70% of the Bale we remember. Pace has all but gone. For me he seems content to be on the periphery, while we need more. Just a bit part p!ayer now that will probably give us some decent minutes, the odd goal and a few passes/free kicks.... Can't see him igniting games. As I say I hope I am wrong!
 
He just looks too scared to sprint and shoot. Doesn’t put in a tackle and looks fragile when tackled. I really don’t think there is much of a player in there anymore and definitely not the desire to make himself great again anyway. Shame really. Still he is bloody well paid half arsing it round a football pitch, and he won’t get criticised by mourinho for some reason unlike alli who can’t dare to make any mistakes or he will be chastised for it pubically
 
Jose reckons that Bale chose not to come out for the second half, but didn't seem too impressed by that. Any which way you would hope that Bale really would want to walk the extra mile to re-establish himself. That clearly isn't the case, he's playing the game at half pace, and seems ready to opt for an early exit as soon as the opportunity presents itself.
 
Harry-Kari said:
He is saving himself for the Euros with Wales...he could do that in Madrid.
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I would hope not, but it is a valid consideration. I'm more inclined to think that he unfortunately doesn't have it at the highest level anymore, mainly due to the impact on his game of the inactivity at Madrid and the inevitable motivation issues that developed from that. Joining Spurs I suspect he thought that he would immediately form part of a dream trio with Kane and Son, and would lift himself accordingly. That hasn't happened and he increasingly looks like the demotivated player who sat on the bench in Madrid.
 
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