Gareth Bale

[wiw]

Mugs

I doubt anyone in 2008 foresaw him going to Madrid for £80m to be fair.

[Norbs]

I doubt anyone in 2013 foresaw him going to Madrid for £80m to be fair.

[McDermotX]

Oh for certain.........sure even Harry was ready to bounce him out on loan at least, only for injuries elsewhere to scupper that. Pushing Bale up the wing etc etc.......the rest as they say is history.

Fortuitous.

[red g]

Of course they had financial reasons for doing it at the time, but it was more so to enable acquisition of a player rather than cold hard buyout to ease their financial burden.
Obviously, we're not privy enough to the details of the deal for the Forecast fella at the time, but clearly Southampton weighed up the financial balancing of needing to bring in a keeper at the time with the precarious state of the club at the time, and of course they couldn't see the future.
But the 'mugs' statement is more in jest relating to the fact that a 25% sell on clause was waived in lieu of the signing of a keeper on a 5 year deal who never measured up as a playing option for them, nor a financial benefit before he was released earlier in the summer.
Circumstances far beyond the waiving of the clause allowed Southampton, thankfully, to grow to a level where they could achieve PL football again, but it still asks a question as to whether they regret the deal they made with Spurs at the time ?? Question for the Saints board I think.

http://www.est1892.co.uk/forums/show...&postcount=910

i am sure I read they actually got 3million to reduce their 10million debt at the time + the keeper. So in total they have had 5m out of the deal (+5m original transfer fee) . the 25% was written off as part of the deal of this payment which would have been as high as 5million if bale fulfilled all the clauses.

I am sure they regret it now, but needs must!!

[baitman]

i posted this earlier, copied from wiki... another early cash settlement from spurs to southampton...

On 25 May 2007, Bale signed a four-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur with Spurs paying an initial £5 million for Bale, potentially rising to £10 million based on appearances and success.[31] However, Tottenham paid Southampton an early settlement payment of £2 million in 2008 to reduce the final fee to £7 million and allow the Saints the immediate cash that they desperately needed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gareth_Bale

[Shaggy]

Real really haven't thought this through properly...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/real-madrid/10287479/Gareth-Bale-faces-backlash-as-Real-Madrid-stars-lament-the-exit-of-Mesut-Ozil-to-Arsenal.html

Gareth Bale faces backlash as Real Madrid stars lament the exit of Mesut Özil to Arsenal

Real Madrid’s decision to sell Mesut Özil to Arsenal has sparked an angry reaction from the Spanish club’s most senior players.

By Pete Jenson, Madrid11:00PM BST 04 Sep 2013

Cristiano Ronaldo was quoted in Diario AS on Wednesday as having told Portuguese team-mates he was “angry” with the sale of the player who “best knows his movements on the pitch”.

Gareth Bale’s arrival from Tottenham Hotspur is already having its effect off the pitch, with broadcaster MediaPro close to announcing that it will move the kick-off time of the former Tottenham player’s first Clasico on Oct 27 to midday, to target the Asian market.

But on the field, the positives of his arrival have been overshadowed by it forcing the sale of the popular Özil.

At Spain’s Las Rozas training camp on Tuesday, Sergio Ramos said Özil was the “last player” he would sell if it had been up to him. And there was similar discontent from France international Karim Benzema and from his German team-mate Sami Khedira.

But it is Ronaldo’s mood that will most concern Madrid. Özil was the Portuguese’s greatest ally on the pitch.

Nobody has contributed more assists to Ronaldo’s 202 goals in 202 appearances and it was his superb pass to the Portuguese that led to him scoring the goal against Barcelona in the Nou Camp that sealed victory and effectively the league title in 2012. It was one of 27 goals he set up for Ronaldo in their three seasons together.

Özil’s departure has also upset Ramos. The Spaniard and Khedira were the two players Özil singled out as being the team-mates he would miss most having moved to London.

Ramos famously defied Jose Mourinho last season in a game against Deportivo, after the coach substituted Özil. The defender put the player’s shirt under his own ready to show it if he scored in the second half.

Özil was a rarity in the Real Madrid dressing room as somebody who got on well both with the Portuguese contingent and with the Spanish players and his departure will make Bale’s introduction on Sept 11, when he returns from international duty with Wales, more difficult.

Ronaldo famously avoided welcoming Bale to the club in July when, asked about his imminent arrival, he said: “I have my opinion, but I am not going to share it.”

Jorge Valdano, Real Madrid’s former sporting director under Mourinho, said last week that he would prefer Özil to Bale, while the Germany coach Joachim Löw said on Wednesday that he was baffled by Real’s decision.

“I have heard a few players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Sami Khedira are sad to lose a class player,” he said. “It’s hard for me to understand why Real Madrid have let him go.”

Meanwhile, Bale has revealed the stress he felt as his protracted transfer from Spurs to Madrid eventually neared completion.

The summer transfer window was dominated by talk of the nine-time European champions making a bid for the Welshman but the deal was not completed until the day before the window closed as Real got their man in a world-record €100million (£85.3million) deal.

There were many times that the move was seemingly on the verge of collapse as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy tried to get the best deal for his club and Bale admits it was a stressful time.

“It was a long time. It was very stressful to say the least,” Bale told BT Sport.

“I knew their interest from the start and I was always confident the move would go through but obviously the chairman Daniel Levy had to do his business and do Tottenham well so I kind of understood that."

[Daffy Duck]

It was clearly a **** decision, probably obvious to everyone but Perez (and Spurs fans).

[RedAndWhite]

Real really haven't thought this through properly...

Do they ever? Joke of a club. Even Real fans seem pissed off about this.

[Fivex]

It's going to be such a good season this. Arsenal buying Ozil as a result of the Bale transfer could very well backfire on Spurs.

[Phoenix07]

Real only have a net spend of £62million. A lot less than I thought.

Anyone who watched Real Madrid last season would've been shocked that they sold him. He was extraordinary, one of the three game changers for Mourinho. He always rested Ronaldo, Ozil and Benzema in smaller games and brought them on to turn it around.

Even worse is that Ronaldo probably will not fall for Real's explanation over the transfer fee and wages. How on earth could Gareth Bale cost more and earn more in wages than the second best player in the world?

They also look desperately short in the attacking areas, with Di Maria the only real attacking threat in reserve. Jese and Morata are far too young and face a burden if two from Benzema, Bale and Ronaldo don't feature.

Finally a word on Bale. Ronaldo's arrival saw the Bernabeu packed to capacity. Bale's arrival only saw 20,000 fans. Even Benzema's arrival saw more fans turn up.

[RedReet]

He'll probably be back in Spurs next year for a fraction of the price.

Quite funny thinking back now when a load of our Est Spurs supporters were saying in June how Suarez was such a disgrace for saying he would like to play for Madrid whereas Bale would do nothing of the sort.

[Norbs]

Reading that just made me think what a load of political bollocks it sounds at Madrid. Portuguese and Spanish factions arguing, players sulking becausr their bessies aren't playing. Bunch of spoilt douchbags

[Tee]

He'll probably be back in Spurs next year for a fraction of the price.

Quite funny thinking back now when a load of our Est Spurs supporters were saying in June how Suarez was such a disgrace for saying he would like to play for Madrid whereas Bale would do nothing of the sort.

Tbf Bale did not utter a word until after he signed. Big difference right there.

[Shaggy]

Bale went on strike!

[danperkins]

Tbf Bale did not utter a word until after he signed. Big difference right there.

Spurs done their business and prepared for Bale exit which was clearly going to happen & Bale went.