UNITED United must be ready for Gareth bailing out
REAL MADRID MAY BE ABOUT TO OFF-LOAD THEIR RECORD SIGNING
SIR Alex Ferguson once referred to Gareth Bale as ‘Christian Bale.’ Bale made sure Ferguson wouldn’t make the Freudian slip again when he sped past Rio Ferdinand to score his first goal against United and later assisted Clint Dempsey’s decisive tap-in in Spurs’ first Old Trafford win since 1989.
That was not Bale’s last appearance in M16. Six months later he watched on from the directors’ box as Real Madrid won that pulsating Champions League tie – and United have attempted to bring Bale back to Manchester since.
Ed Woodward and David Moyes agreed Bale was worth a world record fee and offered Spurs £86m in 2013, amid encouragement from the club’s demanding chairman Daniel Levy.
Louis van Gaal urged Woodward to enquire about Bale’s availability two years later at a time his popularity rating among Madridistas was loitering towards Catalan levels.
Twelve months on and Bale faces uncertainty again.
United are more interested in signing him than Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane has reportedly met Monaco’s coveted Kylian Mbappe and the French sports paper L’Equipe suggests Madrid could sell one of their superstars to offset the world record fee Mbappe would command.
Bale is maybe the one in jeopardy of being sacrificed.
He is no longer considered a firstteamer at Madrid, albeit partly due to injury, and the team appears to be more balanced and slicker without him in it.
Isco, his replacement, is expected to sign a new contract and few seriously believe Ronaldo’s recent tantrum will result in his sale.
Ronaldo’s remarkable form over the last year might have had a devastating effect on Bale. Before he moved to Spain, Bale wanted to become Ronaldo so badly he dressed and celebrated like him. What is abundantly apparent is Bale cannot hold a candle to Ronaldo.
Few players in the game’s history are comparable with Ronaldo, so there is no shame in that, and Bale must be modest enough to realise that as he prepares to turn 28.
At the same stage, Ronaldo scored 51 goals for club and country in a season. Bale managed 13.
That should not diminish Bale’s worth. He was talismanic for Wales at last year’s Euros and his impact was comparable to Ronaldo in that he produced key moments without performing at the level he is associated with.
By the spoilt Madrid supporters’ standards, Bale has not been a success despite helping the club to their first La Liga title in five years, three Champions Leagues, the Club World Cup and scoring an unforgettable solo goal to defeat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
In most footballing cities, you would not need to buy a drink again after netting the goal which won the team their 10th European Cup. You do in Madrid. Madrid president Florentino Perez cherishes Bale but the shelf life of Madrid’s shiny new things is decreasing. Madrid were ready to jettison James Rodriguez after two years and Bale has survived the white handkerchiefs and catcalls from supporters, as well as the sceptical rhetoric of the Madrid media.
Seven months after Bale’s European Cup winner, an AS poll of 30,000 Real fans revealed nearly 54 per cent would be happy to sell him.
More recently, Madrid’s local cheerleaders Marca published a piece headlined ‘And what if selling Bale isn’t such a bad idea?’ ahead of the Champions League final and author Roberto Palomar opined ‘in time, his absence stops being a problem.’
Marca also claimed it would be ‘the greatest injustice in memory’ if Zidane selected Bale over Isco in Cardiff. He didn’t. What is particu- larly appealing about Bale is he is a world-class matchwinner and United’s need for one is even greater after Antoine Griezmann rejected them.
A potential front three of Ivan Perisic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alvaro Morata might be good enough to help United credibly challenge for the top four. Which isn’t good enough.
Interest in Perisic and Nemanja Matic - both 28 - as well as Bale highlights Jose Mourinho’s desire to recruit established players.
Morata, at 24 and with just 44 league starts in four years, might need a more seasoned foil and Bale would also ease the burden on Paul Pogba, whose influence grew in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s absence.
Ferguson was aggrieved Southampton refused to respond to United’s enquiry about Bale 10 years ago as he joined Spurs instead.
His electric Premier League debut at Old Trafford prompted the travelling fans to heckle Ryan Giggs with chants of ‘You’re just a s**t Gareth Bale.’ Only 18 at the time, he resembled a teenage Giggs.
No wonder Ferguson mistook him for someone else.