The pressure is on Tottenham now to cash-in on Gareth Bale and I wouldn’t blame them if they did.
A few days ago I said Spurs had pulled off the best business deal of the summer in keeping the Welshman on their books.
But news of Real Madrid’s phenomenal offer of between £80 and £90 million has changed everything – and I can now see the boy leaving at any minute now.
And, from what I’ve been reading, it could also be good news for my old club Southampton who will collect a £2 million payment under FIFA rules for educating the player.
I was really surprised to hear the size of that bid to be honest because I thought a figure of around £50million might arrive on the table.
Yet these latest offers are no doubt very tempting for a guy like Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy – it’s a lot of money to turn down.
There are a lot of decent players in the world you could buy with that sort of money which would strengthen his squad enough to launch another serious bid for Champions League football.
It’s whether or not Tottenham feel that Bale is so important to them that they can afford to spurn Real Madrid’s offer at this stage.
I honestly thought the player would be staying in London especially when I saw him photographed in the club’s new strip.
Right now he’s even the poster boy, wearing the Spurs shirt, in New York’s Times Square promoting NBC’s Premier League coverage.
But with all this talk going on he’s going to be a little bit unsettled and I’ve been in the game long enough to know that every player has his price.
There’s very little loyalty around in the game these days and you couldn’t criticise Bale, who has served Tottenham so well, to want to better himself at a club like Real Madrid.
A few years ago he was playing Championship football at my old club Southampton and here he is now with the world at his feet.
For a boy like him to have a chance of playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and nine-time European champions at that, is a dream come true for him.
The biggest hurdle Tottenham faced keeping him happy was the fact that they failed to land a Champions League place for this season.
Real Madrid can offer him that luxury which surely must have turned his head a little bit because he needs to be playing in the biggest competition in Europe.
So I don’t blame Gareth for wanting to leave and I don’t blame Levy if he took the cash because that sort of money doesn’t come round very often.
Matt Le Tissier was writing for Goalden Goals. Matt’s blogs can be found on his new online football game website www.goaldengoals.co.uk.
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This photograph was provided by Jan S0L0.
