Gareth Bale could be allowed to leave Real Madrid for FREE this summer having failed to complete a Premier League return last year.
This is according to former Los Blancos president Ramon Calderon, who revealed to talkSPORT that Bale could have joined an English side last summer in an £89million transfer.
A bid was made for the Wales international but turned down by Real Madrid, as Bale was expected to be a key first-team figure in 2019/20 – something that could not have been further from what actually came to pass.
Is this the year Gareth Bale finally leaves Real Madrid?
In reality, Bale was cast out the Bernabeu set-up by head coach Zinedine Zidane, making only 20 appearances across the entire campaign and asking to NOT be included in Real Madrid’s squad for last month’s Champions League final tournament with the knowledge he likely would have travelled to be nothing more than a non-playing substitute.
Bale actually created headlines for what he did OFF the pitch last season, rather than his performances on it.
He played up to the cameras as he sat in the stands as a substitute – pretending to sleep and use binoculars during matches – while he was even filmed playing golf on the same day Real were defeated by Man City in the European Cup.
Bale’s antics during Real Madrid’s post-lockdown matches were widely condemned
But it could have been such a different season for both Bale and Real Madrid if he completed a move to the unnamed Premier League club last summer.
I know in the last day of the transfer window last year there was an offer from the Premier League,” Calderon revealed on Thursday’s talkSPORT Breakfast. “They offered 100m, and Real Madrid turned down that offer because they thought Bale would be a player in their side.
He came in 2013 with a contract for six years, and the strange thing is in 2016 with Zidane at the helm the club extended his contract until 2022.
I dont know why, but at the end of 2018 when he played well in the Champions League final [against Liverpool], Zidane told the president to keep Cristiano Ronaldo and sell Bale.
The president did the opposite, and Zidane left, and from that moment there has been a disagreement between Zidane and the player.
And in some way I think fans are angry and annoyed because theyve seen Bale not interested in some matches, and now they have to find a solution.
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Pushed to name the Premier League club who tried to sign Bale, Calderon added: Im not allowed to say the name though I know the name of the club and I think at the end there was a disagreement as Real Madrid decided not to sell the player, because they thought he was a player who could be used and be in the starting line-up.
But I think the player neither wants to leave nor to reduce his salary; it is true his salary is very high, but in 2016 the club decided to increase his salary.
It is difficult for any club to pay that salary, especially knowing the situation of football nowadays.
So what is the solution?
If no club can afford to pay Bale’s huge salary, how is any club meant to sign him this summer?
That’s not even mentioning the transfer fee Los Blancos would demand for a player who still has two years remaining on his contract at the Bernabeu.
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Well, the fee issue may be solved, according to Calderon, by Real Madrid letting Bale leave for free before October’s transfer deadline.
I think his agent was here yesterday trying to get a deal,” he finished, “but I dont see any club paying that salary.
And, on top of that, if Real Madrid want to get a transfer fee thats impossible.
I think Real Madrid would now be willing to let him go without any transfer fee that would be the solution but in that case I dont see any club paying 40m-a-year for a player who is 31 and who hasnt been playing regularly in the last two years.