After seven years, 251 appearances, 105 goals, 68 assists and 13 trophies with Los Blancos, Gareth Bale has returned to Tottenham Hotspur on a one-year loan deal for the 2020-21 season.
After seven illustrious yet tumultuous years, Real Madrid finally decided to do some damage limitation on Bale’s contract, which still runs until June 2022. Real Madrid will be saving $26m in Bale’s wages, which will be paid by Tottenham Hotspur for this season.
Bale has been unequivocally out of favour with Real’s manager Zinedine Zidane, the club’s fanbase and the Spanish media, who have all derided Bale for his apparent lack of interest for the club and an affinity for golf, despite his record for the club. While neither side can be considered fully blameless, it is safer to say the last few years have been hard for the two parties to work together.
Bale’s arrival is accompanied by another arrival from Real – the 23-year-old Spanish left-back Sergio Reguilón, who was rated the best left-beck in LaLiga last season. The moves seem in-line with Daniel Levy’s short-term planning to seize glory in the form of silverware while serial winner José Mourinho is at the helm.
Despite his recent lack of appearances and a long injury record, Bale’s past antics for Spurs, Real and Wales NT are sufficient to fill the Spurs fans with confidence. Having started out as a left-back, his pace and dribbling ability soon saw Bale converted to a wide-attacking player – first from the left, then the right-hand side. Ever since his big money move to Real in 2013, Bale has become quite a complete package, able to play anywhere across the front line, making him a brilliant option for José, especially as a No. 9 alternative for Harry Kane, whose ankles need more protection than ever in this saturated, post-COVID calendar.
However, at the end of day, Bale’s arrival is the homecoming every Spurs fan has wanted ever since he first left seven years ago. He has won everything one could at club-level football, and it’s time for him to come home to a club whose fanbase actually loves him. It won’t be an easy sailing for Gareth, however, who will be expected to show some of his old self in order to work in a José team. Having said that, the very fact that he pushed for a move where he’d have to play and not sit out his contract at Real where he was almost certainly never getting back in the team shows that the Welshman has all the desire some people have been questioning of him.
Spurs fans will have to wait to see him in action, however, as the 31-year-old is recuperating from a knee injury he sustained while on international duty with Wales earlier this month. He’s expected to make his first start after the international break in October.
Written By – Anshuman Joshi
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