Real Madrid have begun to consider the future of Gareth Bale after his loan deal with Tottenham Hotspur comes to an end following the completion of this season.
Bale returned to Spurs seven years after leaving them for Madrid. The Welshman won all there is to win in his time in the Spanish capital – two LaLiga titles, the Copa del Rey, the Spanish Super Cup, a remarkable four Champions League titles, two European Super Cups and three Club World Cups.
Things soured toward the end of his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, however, especially regarding his personal relationship with coach Zinedine Zidane. A loan move made sense given most clubs were afraid to take on the winger’s astronomical wages following a couple of seasons that were below his best, and Spurs were more than willing to welcome him home.
Madrid are currently paying half of Bale’s €30m gross salary, and are beginning to feel the Welshman could still be a financial asset to the club. Spurs coach Jose Mourinho is said to be happy with Bale’s performances since coming to the club, and the London club’s hierarchy are supposedly interested in making a permanent deal happen.
Madrid are currently in the midst of restructuring the club’s entire salary bill in order to make room for stars scheduled to come in the next couple of years – Kylian Mbappe, Eduardo Camavinga and Erling Haaland being the three top targets. James Rodriguez joining Everton on a free transfer has provided some relief (€15m to be exact), but the wage bill is still at an eye-watering €283m.
The most favourable situation for Los Blancos is that Bale hits a rich vein of form and the club can field offers from him next summer, or perhaps Spurs can agree to a second year on loan but one in which they pay Bale’s full salary – the latter is probably more likely right now. A third option could be that Bale could return to Madrid, and that, according to Diario AS, is not a scenario that should be discounted too quickly – especially should Zidane no longer be in charge at the Bernabeu.
Featured image courtesy of The Athletic.
