Gareth Bale says his intention is to return to Real Madrid next season...

He's said it...

"I think the main reason I came to Spurs this year was to play football first and foremost.

"Going into the Euros I wanted to be match-fit. The original plan was to do a season at Spurs and after the Euros still have a year left at Real Madrid.

"My plan is to go back, that's as far I have planned."

What does it mean?...because I can't see Madrid wanting him back...I'm pretty sure that he'll not be with us, as what we're paying him isn't worth it.

 

I think he's just saying the sensible thing here, but Mourinho could well have told him that he's no longer required after his no-show against Arsenal.

 

He's still got one year left on his contract at Madrid and he's earning c.£600k a week, right? No other club will pay him that, and a wage cut on his part doesn't seem to be forthcoming. So I reckon he'll dig his heels in at Madrid, continue collecting that money and then after that, will go to China/UAE/US if they're still interested. Equally, wouldn't surprise me if he joins an Italian side, either.

Don't think he'll retire at the age of 32. Will give him another year or two before he does.

 

He's definitely not making a permanent move in the summer, unless Madrid agree to some sort of payout, which seems unlikely.
Chinese football is collapsing and nowhere else will spend that sort of money, especially now.
I think he'll loan out and hope to get enough time at wherever he goes to earn another contract. Italy's a decent call there.

 

He's not been good value for money when we haven't got any...and whether it's Mourinho or Nagelsmann or whoever, having him around causes more issues than it solves. We need a rebuild and he doesn't really have a place in a squad with as many issues as ours.

That said, maybe he can contribute something between now and the end of the season? I hope so.

 

Personally I'd like him back, I still think he's a brilliant footballer but it looks like he's back to being unfavoured after the poor performance in the NLD (though he wasn't alone in that) so it's probably likely he won't want to return if Jose is still manager next season. It's a lot of money for us to pay out for a player the manager doesn't seem to have much trust in.

 

There's clearly something there still, but I don't think that we can afford to give him enough game time to get it out of him.
Some of his passing, touches and movement in recent weeks has been excellent and the finishing hasn't gone away.
He needs to be more than a passenger for tough games, though. He hasn't demonstrated that's the case.

 

I think this whole thing would have worked out rather differently had there been 60,000 fans there to greet him for his first home game.

Although I am somewhat peeved to see him basically admitting what many of us had long suspected - he's using us a pit stop to get in shape for the only thing he loves more than golf.

 

For me it all depends on if we have a change in manager. I can see why a new face might come in, look at him this season and given how much it’s costing us to have Bale at the club, decide he’s not worth the investment next year, in light of all the other squad issues we have to fix.

The flip side is that he’s had some genuinely excellent moments now he’s fit and if he continues to get game time and stay free of injury you’d expect him to keep up the momentum into next year, so equally a manager might look at that and think it’s a real asset to have him.

From Bale’s point of view, he’s getting paid either way so surely he’d rather be at Spurs with fans (hopefully back in the stadium) who will show him some love rather than at Madrid, not playing and feeling unwelcome for his final year?

Realistically I expect him to retire after the final year of this contract, unless he takes a pay cut to play for Cardiff or something (unlikely) or decides he wants to head off to the US. I could see Beckham’s team in Miami going for him and Bale being interested in that lifestyle for a couple more years.

 

Wages are a huge issue. They are for us too. In a way we've snookered ourselves in this regard, failing to learn any lessons from observing how difficult you lot have found it to shift big earners. It is no secret that we need a major clear-out and to do that, we need to clear as much money as possible from the wage bill. I doubt we'll find anyone to take Toby and Dier off our hands given the money they're on (£110k and £90k respectively). Handing them new contracts was criminal. Other high earners include Alli, Sissoko and Aurier. All five of them ideally shouldn't be at the club come next season but it is highly unlikely. Pragmatism calls for Bale to be sent back. Saves us £230k per week and as lovely as it is seeing him in a spurs shirt again, he isn't worth that amount of money.

 

He's already proven that there's a special player still in there.
Problem is, we cannot afford a part-timer. We need a Bale from 2010-12 era, committed to a cause. He's not, and I can understand 100% why that's the case. £600k pw for a start.

So I reckon retirement is his best career option. He's a good golfer... Give him even more time to improve his handicap.

 

I suspect he has been told by the club that they won't be extending his loan deal. Quite right regardless because he hasn't warranted his huge pay.

Might have turned out differently if fans were allowed at the stadium. I don't think Levy budgeted for a whole season with no fans when he signed him.

 

I`d take Bale for another year on the same terms, he is still a fantastic footballer, playing for the right manager and in a team that has some quality defenders he could be a difference maker. If we are going to persist with the same calamity defence though, it would limit Bale`s game time, as we would require our forwards to be constantly helping out our error prone defenders, which is not Bale`s game these days. Money should not be an issue when you are serious about building a winning team, unfortunately the balance sheet is king where our owners are concerned, so we`ll probably decline a second year for Bale and start next season with Sissoko in the team.

 

Yeah you make a solid point. The biggest issue is we need so many grafters because of how the manager sets us up but also because of how cack the defence is. You don't bring in a player like Bale to put in the miles. Fact of the matter is, the club is extremely fortunate that Kane and Son are two of the hardest working players in the league. Compare other teams' strikers to them and it isn't even close. We've been very spoiled in that regard but that doesn't mean it becomes our default expectation of every attacking player.

Bale playing with zero defensive responsibilities is a totally different ball game to Bale being expected to cover Doherty's inability to do anything constructive on a football pitch.

 

I see nothing wrong with what he said and I’d personally like to see him stay another season under a different manager (hopefully)

 

I suspect Barnett's up to his usual antics.

 

Ally Gold said something very similar on his most recent video - that Bale was responding specifically to journo questions and his response in any other light really didn't suggest he wanted to leave Spurs.

 

Joe Rodon didn't appreciate it, that's for sure

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How long has he got left on his big pay day?
Seems he resigned himself to concentrating mainly on making sure the wages went into the bank some time ago.
It’s a shame because he could still have a lot to offer. Ronaldo (CR7) was probably at his peak at his age and is still more than useful.

 

Los Ladrones have effectively said they have no intention of using him next season

Oh I do believe that is what we call "a bargaining chip"