What a ****ing embarrassment! 
-
Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’ -
Trey Nyoni: countdown to stardom-2 years1year0.5 yearsComment
-
-
ok, now I've caught up and really dislike him.
Trey Nyoni: countdown to stardom-2 years1year0.5 yearsComment
-
doesn't mean he's going to use it himself tho! - it could be just to stop some dodgy ****er selling fake bale merchandisei own everton fans on the internet....that's what i doComment
-
Exclusive: Gareth Bale signs new £130,000-a-week contract to stay at Spurs ... for now
Gareth Bale is set to give despondent Tottenham fans a much-needed boost by confirming he has signed a new contract to stay at the club.
Standard Sport understands the Wales international, who scored his 31st goal of the season in the 1-0 win over Sunderland yesterday, has committed his future to the club with a £130,000-a-week deal and will remain at White Hart Lane next season.
An announcement is expected to be made by the club shortly, which will provide Tottenham fans with a huge lift after losing their bid to beat Arsenal to a place in the top four.
Bale, 23, is a target for many of Europe’s top clubs this summer, including Real Madrid and Manchester United, but is going nowhere despite Tottenham’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Standard Sport revealed in March that the forward would be offered a new and improved contract with the Tottenham hierarchy determined to keep him, regardless of where they finished in the table, in much the same way they blocked Luka Modric’s transfer two years ago.
Significantly, Bale’s relationship with the club is much stronger than his predecessor’s was at the time — Modric demanded a transfer on three occasions — and is focused on helping Tottenham succeed next term anyway. It is believed, though, that the Welshman is likely to be allowed to leave in 12 months’ time should an enormous bid — in excess of £50million — come in for him.
In a message to the club’s fans on the eve of their 1-0 win over Sunderland yesterday, chairman Daniel Levy insisted: “Looking ahead to the summer, we shall continue to seek to strengthen and improve the team and to retain key players.”
Afterwards, boss Andre Villas-Boas also gave a huge hint that he expected the club to keep Bale and be given funds to strengthen the squad, too.
Asked about Bale’s future, the Portuguese said: “This is an ongoing question but it’s absolutely fine.
“If we want to make it better next season we have to hold on to our best assets and this is what I have been told from the top.
“The reference from the points tally is there so for us to make it better we need to keep hold of the best assets. It is very difficult to lure a player of this dimension away.”
Meanwhile, Gylfi Sigurdsson today claimed Bale was virtually irreplaceable as Spurs contemplated another Europa League campaign despite the player’s brilliance this season.
Bale’s 21 Premier League goals — the best return for a Spurs player since Teddy Sheringham in 1992-93 — were not enough to earn Tottenham a place in the top four as they were edged out of Champions League qualification by a single point by Arsenal for the second successive year. Spurs finished fourth last season but missed out on a place in Europe’s main club competition because of Chelsea’s victory in the 2012 final.
This time, albeit under different circumstances, Tottenham’s London rivals have denied them again.
With Bale crucial to Spurs’s future plans, Sigurdsson said: “I don’t think that there is a player who could replace him — perhaps only a couple — because he has been that good during this season.
“It’s very important that he stays. It’s always important for us to keep good players and he is a fantastic player.
“For us to push forward, it would be great if he stays.
“If he goes, I’m sure the club will get a lot of money for him.
“In that situation, hopefully he would be replaced by a few players because I don’t think there will be one player who can replace him.”
Villas-Boas has always expressed his belief that Bale would stay at White Hart Lane and Sigurdsson is similarly optimistic.
The Icelandic midfielder added: “Hopefully he will stay at the club. He’s been here for a long time, he’s very happy and he’s enjoying his football.”Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
-
Been some change eh.
Going from an expensive defensive flop to being one of the best players in the League a couple of years later.
Comment
-
That was another incredible goal yesterday. I can't see him staying with them for long, 1 more year maxComment
-
Bale yet to open Spurs talks as Real lurk
May 29, 2013
By Miguel Delaney
Gareth Bale’s agent has revealed that the player has not begun contract renegotiations with Tottenham Hotspur, as Real Madrid firmly believe they will bring the Welshman to the Bernabeu this summer.
The player’s representative, Jonathan Barnett, also told Marca TV on Tuesday night that it would be an “honour” if Real president Florentino Perez were interested in Bale, but he did “not know if there has been an offer”.
Sources in both Madrid and London, however, have told ESPN that the Spanish club’s plans are much more advanced than that. Real official Zinedine Zidane has immersed himself in the project, and is utterly confident of making Bale the marquee signing to accompany Carlo Ancelotti’s pending appointment.
His comments about the player at the weekend were seen as part of a wider charm offensive. The bullishness of Real’s confidence is akin to the insistence they would sign Luka Modric last summer, and Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.
Given how delicate the situation is, it is also seen as hugely significant that Barnett would choose to speak on the record to a media outlet with such close connections to the Spanish club.
When specifically asked on Marca's television station about reports of Bale’s contract renegotiation, Barnett answered: “No, we haven’t spoken to anybody.”
He added: “If someone like Perez was interested in Bale it would be a great honour, and we would listen. I don’t know if there has been an offer. What I do know is that the player has three years left on his contract.”
The 2013-14 season, however, would also be Bale’s third consecutive season without Champions League football. Despite his obvious happiness at White Hart Lane, as well as an exceptionally strong professional and personal relationship with Spurs boss Andre Vilas-Boas, that lack of elite football is now known to be a huge issue for the player’s camp.
There is the increased feeling that a player of his talent needs to make the most of the top stage for as much of his career as possible. What’s more, Bale’s first choice if he were to ever leave Tottenham has always been Real Madrid. It is a personal ambition to eventually play at the Bernabeu for the Spanish club, even it does not happen this summer.
For their part, Spurs are still hopeful of keeping Bale, and the player would feel an element of regret about ending a professional relationship with Villas-Boas after just one campaign.
Tottenham have also stepped up their plans to greatly enhance the squad following last season’s Champions League disappointment, and are in negotiations for the £18 million signing of Internacional forward Leandro Damiao. A significantly lower bid was rejected by the Brazilian club last January.Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
-
I thought he signed a new contract a few weeks ago?Originally posted by fah-qComment
-
Nope, it was rumoured he was going to, but nothing official was ever announced.Originally posted by meffin View PostComment
-
Greg Stobart @gstobart
Marca reporting that Real Madrid have already given up on Gareth Bale for the summer. Wouldn't surprise me, #THFC stance a v firm 'no'Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
-
Daniel Levy is peerless in the hard-nosed ******* stakes.Oh I don't know.Comment
-
He is unreal.Thanks very much for being ‘This Mornings’ Farmer’Comment
-
Imagine where we could have been with him in charge instead of H&G?
Oh I don't know.Comment
Comment