Bale is heading to Qatar, but where will he but stop on way?

SAINTS, TOON, SPURS & THE USA ALL APPEAL, BUT GOING HOME TO CARDIFF MAY BE BEST FIT OF ALL

BY

GARETH BALE does not need one last big payday before hanging up his boots – nine years at Real Madrid, latterly on more than £550,000 a week, has almost certainly ensured that.

He does not need the extra adulation from a new set of fans, with the love he receives in a Wales shirt seemingly quite enough.

And he would appear to need no personal vindication or, for that matter, have points to prove towards the end of a career in which he has pretty much won the lot, including five Champions League trophies.

What he does need is to stay sharp for another six months until the end of Wales’ World Cup adventure. And with three months of football between now and their opening game on November 22, speculation as to where he might do that has gone into overdrive. Bale’s smiling acknowledgement he was ready to postpone his playing retirement “for a little bit” has created a frenzy about where he might rock up next with Cardiff, of the Championship, the favourite. Bluebirds chairman Mehmet Dalman has reportedly flown into the UK to lead negotiations with Cardiff, hoping the chance to spearhead a challenge to lift them into the top flight would appeal beyond the end of the World Cup, too.

It would mean a big drop in wages. But after the vitriol that came his way during his final years in Madrid there would be release in a return to fans that would forgive him anything, where his family are from and where he has built up significant business investments.

Spurs and Southampton have also been mentioned as possible destinations but that seems largely because of his previous connections rather than any logic.

Bale created the platform for his then-record £85million move to Madrid at Spurs and came back on loan between September 2020 and June 2021, making 24 appearances.

Yet it is hard to see what sort of a contract Bale might strike

Bale shot to stardom at Spurs, and they have funds now

If money really is no object, Bale signing would make a splash

Southampton is where it all started for Bale... and they need a boost

Going stateside might appeal to Bale - all that sun and golf!

and how he might fit in to Antonio Conte’s rebuild given he is not renowned for his high pressing.

Some Spurs fans were also slightly piqued by Bale’s departure comments about how he had used the club to get fit for the Euros, so a return there seems unlikely.

Newcastle have also been mentioned and have the deepest pockets, although Bale’s agent has insisted money will not be the deciding factor.

Another possibility is the MLS. The US season runs from late February to October, so the timing could work.

Yet Bale has rarely gone down the most likely route and there will be many in the Welsh capital keeping their fingers crossed.