adminLONDON. — Gareth Bale has rocked Tottenham by telling chairman Daniel Levy he wants to join Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid.
According to Spanish paper Marca, Bale has accused Levy of broken promises after Spurs snubbed an offer from the La Liga giants. It had been thought that Andre Villas-Boas could tempt the PFA Player of the Year into one more season in North London.
But Villas-Boas’ hopes have today been torn to shreds by the dramatic revelation that Bale wants out.
Marca have claimed that Bale spelled out his desire to quit Spurs in a powderkeg meeting with transfer supremo Levy last week.
He is reported to have said: “You made me a promise. You promised me if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League and a good offer turned up you’d listen to it.
“Well that offer has arrived and I want to play for Real Madrid. So keep your word and negotiate.”
This came late yesterday after Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas had earlier in the day indicated that they were in talks with Bale over a new contract, in a bid to keep him away from the clutches of Real Madrid.
The star winger (24) was reported earlier this week to have come to an agreement with Real and there were claims he had told the Londoners he wanted to leave.
“There was contact last year between the club (Spurs) and his agent. There are ongoing contacts between the club and his agent,” said Villas-Boas.
“The player renewed his contract last year, at the beginning of the season, and it’s something that is being dealt with by the chairman and his agents. Talks are ongoing but it doesn’t mean that there is an agreement.”
Asked if he was confident Tottenham and the Welshman could agree a new improved deal to keep him at the club, Villas-Boas, speaking in Hong Kong, said: “Yes, at the moment we are confident that the player is under contract and a very good contract done by Tottenham last year.
“So it is something that we are speaking about but we haven’t had any further development.”
Asked if any club had made an offer for Bale — Manchester United are also reportedly interested — the Portuguese manager said: “I am not going to make any comment on that one.
“The player is a special player and had a wonderful season last year.
“We recognise the level he was playing at. At the moment we are extremely happy with his performances and happy with the conditions that he has.
“We understand that we are speaking with his agent for a possible improvement but at the moment we don’t need to make any further statement regarding transfer speculation or his contract.” Bale did not play on Wednesday against Sunderland in the Barclays Asia Trophy because of injury. — AFP.
Online Reporter