Close menu

Gareth Bale: Real Madrid forward nears a return to Tottenham

By Simon StoneBBC Sport

Last updated on .From the section European Footballcomments1942

Bale arrives at Tottenham training ground

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale arrived at Tottenham Hotspur's training ground on Friday as he neared a return to the club.

Wales international Bale, 31, is expected to rejoin Spurs on loan.

He flew into Luton Airport before travelling to the training ground in Enfield, north London.

Bale originally joined Spurs from Southampton in 2007 before moving to the Spanish giants for a then world record £85m in 2013.

He has gone on to score more than 100 goals for Real and won four Champions Leagues.

"Until I'm told Bale is a Tottenham player, I still think and feel and respect the fact he's a Real Madrid player," said Spurs boss Jose Mourinho.

It is also anticipated Real Madrid full-back Sergio Reguilon will complete his transfer to Tottenham on Friday. The 23-year-old Spain international played last season on loan at Sevilla, winning the Europa League.

Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, told BBC Wales Sport on Wednesday that talks over a move were "slowly progressing".

Barnett said: "Gareth is closer to leaving Madrid than at any time in the last seven years. We are still negotiating. We shall see how it goes."

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho refused to speculate on the discussions, saying: "He is a Real Madrid player and I don't comment on players from other clubs. I have to respect that. It's better not to speak.

"I tried to sign him for Real Madrid, which was not possible to do during my time there. But the president followed my instinct and my knowledge and the season I left he brought Gareth to the club. It's not a secret, even Gareth knows that."

In July 2019, Real cancelled a deal for Bale to join Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, and he played 20 times for the Spanish champions last season.

Tottenham were beaten 1-0 at home by Everton in their first game of the new Premier League campaign on Sunday.

Around the BBC iPlayer bannerAround the BBC iPlayer footer

Comments

Join the conversation

These comments are now closed.

1942 comments

  • Comment posted by lillew , at 12:06 17 Sep 2020

    Not a Spurs fan but Bale has a point to prove now, I think he will be a massive lift to the club and the team.

    Bale can be another level on his day, let's hope he lights up the premier league (Just not against my team)

    • Reply posted by El_Cuervo, at 13:16 17 Sep 2020

      El_Cuervo replied:
      The only thing he is lighting up is Spurs fans' money.

  • Comment posted by StuN, at 12:18 17 Sep 2020

    This is the same club that made people redundant & took a loan from the government? Even if Real are paying half his wages, Spurs will still be paying £300k pw! Add the Doherty signing & Reguilon. Shouldn’t they be paying the loan back to the taxpayer before all that?

  • Comment posted by Stovieman, at 12:11 17 Sep 2020

    Excellent player.
    Stupid hair

    • Reply posted by tastytunes, at 12:34 17 Sep 2020

      tastytunes replied:
      If Spurs provide Bale with a big enough space to park his ego he could be a great signing.

  • Comment posted by VimalGEsqIII, at 12:22 17 Sep 2020

    Arsenal fan here, looking forward to seeing this once awesome (hopefully still can be) player back in the Premier League, even if it is for that team!!

    • Reply posted by stevef, at 13:24 17 Sep 2020

      stevef replied:
      Blimey a Gooner that has a brain and is not riddled with hate and fear of their nearest rivals. Well done mate

  • Comment posted by philip, at 12:12 17 Sep 2020

    Great for Wales and Spurs. He will certainly give Spurs a cutting edge

    • Reply posted by valleyboy, at 12:30 17 Sep 2020

      valleyboy replied:
      If he stays fit which going by his record is highly unlikely..

  • Comment posted by Oh Danny boy, at 12:07 17 Sep 2020

    This thread is about to go seven shades of tribal but let's start with a positive - on pure talent alone it is great to have someone like him back playing regularly and doing so in England - I read the press and watch football, I know he costs a lot, gets injured etc but just let's see past that for a few seconds.

    • Reply posted by Scientist Economist Voice of ALL knowledge, at 12:44 17 Sep 2020

      Scientist Economist Voice of ALL knowledge replied:
      I.m still chuckling at what his leaving party would have been like. A tray of crusty bottles and a tube of stale pringles. All to himself

  • Comment posted by KA, at 12:19 17 Sep 2020

    not doing 2 weeks self-isolation, then?

    • Reply posted by Steve, at 12:27 17 Sep 2020

      Steve replied:
      He is an elite sportsman apparently. Guess the powers to be think his golfing skills have improved that much in the last couple of years.

  • Comment posted by Alex A, at 12:07 17 Sep 2020

    Great news. Seriously underrated world class player who has been badly treated in Spain. Welcome home!

    • Reply posted by The Old Trafford Career Derailment Scheme, at 12:19 17 Sep 2020

      The Old Trafford Career Derailment Scheme replied:
      Doesn't your heart just bleed for the guy how terribly he's been treated on £600,000 a week. Someone call Amnesty

  • Comment posted by darktowers, at 12:07 17 Sep 2020

    Great signing for Spurs - they need this calibre of player. However, Spurs still have a lot of work to do and this signing may ultimately be the make-or-break for Mourinho's future at Spurs.

    • Reply posted by stevef, at 13:23 17 Sep 2020

      stevef replied:
      Like every other PL team is sitting comfortably, with their manager totally safe as houses and no work to do. eh ? btw , from your comments, I assume you have the inside track to what Levy discusses at board meetings.

  • Comment posted by Oh Danny boy, at 12:40 17 Sep 2020

    Can we all just accept he gets paid a lot and has had injury problems? It's seriously irritating having people raise it like they are the only ones that know...also the wages aren't his "fault" in the first place...if you pay to watch football on TV (which I do) you are partly to blame for the money in the sport.

    • Reply posted by Dredd, at 12:55 17 Sep 2020

      Dredd replied:
      Spot on!

  • Comment posted by opinionated123, at 15:48 17 Sep 2020

    It took 7 years for Tottenham to replace Bale... with Bale!

    • Reply posted by stevef, at 07:46 18 Sep 2020

      stevef replied:
      Not aware we have been trying to replace him ? like saying Utd are still trying to replace Bobby Charlton. Clubs move on mate. Oh and your somehow forgot to mention we got 86m for him ( a world record at the time ) and are now getting him back with just cost of wages. You need to have more imagination with your hating.

  • Comment posted by Leo, at 12:22 17 Sep 2020

    For most of his career at RM, Bale was lauded as one of their top players. He played regularly and performed well, there was no obvious conflict with his team mates. This changed when the manager changed, so can the fault really be but on Bale? He's still a class player and will no doubt bring something extra to a Spurs team that desperately needs it. A good transfer.

    • Reply posted by El_Cuervo, at 13:39 17 Sep 2020

      El_Cuervo replied:
      100% wrong. Like you could not be any more wrong it's actually funny.

      During 16/17, the criticism that had been slowly building for a year or so got to the stage where even Zidane couldn't justify his starting before other players in the squad.

      Zidane gave him many chances to prove himself, but he never did. The fact that he scored a freak goal in a high profile game means nothing to us.

  • Comment posted by shadow warrior, at 12:31 17 Sep 2020

    i Wonder how he will adjust to Jose playing him at left back

    • Reply posted by Trololloll, at 14:48 17 Sep 2020

      Trololloll replied:
      Pretty sure they're trying to buy a LB off Real as well as Gareth

  • Comment posted by CurtisC, at 12:16 17 Sep 2020

    Gareth bale catches a plane to UK, breaking news!

    Can we have an article on what he orders from the flight trolley on Friday please.

    • Reply posted by Scoops, at 12:19 17 Sep 2020

      Scoops replied:
      He earns £600k a week. I think it might be a different type of flight 😄

  • Comment posted by YorkshireDagger, at 12:17 17 Sep 2020

    I wish the guy well. I'm on the fence whether this is a good move for Spurs as they could probably spend the wages more wisely but it'll be good to see Bale get some game time.

    • Reply posted by F1_Engineer, at 12:40 17 Sep 2020

      F1_Engineer replied:
      If rumours are true, that £250k per wages, with no upfront loan fee.

      So around £13M for 12 months that Real save, and spurs get the services of Gareth Bale.

      Depending how much time is spent on the medical table will prove if this is a good deal. But given that he can win games with a moment of magic. If he adds 10-15 goals to spurs total this season then its a canny investment from Levy.

  • Comment posted by El Matador, at 12:09 17 Sep 2020

    Heard Gaz is absolutely buzzing to have a crack at Royal Wentworth

    • Reply posted by Second rate second row, at 12:34 17 Sep 2020

      Second rate second row replied:
      What's 'Royal Wentworth?

  • Comment posted by Julio Laker, at 12:26 17 Sep 2020

    Does he really need to fly here just to have talks? I've been doing business on calls and video confs since March!

    • Reply posted by Julio Laker, at 12:30 17 Sep 2020

      Julio Laker replied:
      Medical I guess

  • Comment posted by Nigel Fromage, at 12:25 17 Sep 2020

    As long as RM are paying the lions share of that salary of his it’s not a bad bit of business for Spurs

    • Reply posted by Tiggerponeill, at 15:43 18 Sep 2020

      Tiggerponeill replied:
      50% is hardly lions share.. if Spurs were only paying 300k he would still be one of the highest paid player for them........

  • Comment posted by Maverick, at 12:08 17 Sep 2020

    If/when he does fly in, won't he have to quarantine for 14 days???

  • Comment posted by rememberscarborough, at 12:16 17 Sep 2020

    If Bale has his "Wales" hat on then Spurs will have a bargain but if he has his Real hat on then Spurs will have bought nothing but trouble...

    • Reply posted by El_Cuervo, at 13:28 17 Sep 2020

      El_Cuervo replied:
      Yeah, he's been absolutely tearing up all those international defences. Some of them were so demoralised that they didnt want to play again.

Elsewhere on the BBC

Also in Sport