Thursday, 13th June, 2013
Former Israeli national team head coach Avram Grant has had his say on the highly-publicised potential transfer of Tottenham Hotspur key figure Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, adding that the Welshman’s sale may well reach the €100m mark.
Bale’s future at White Hart Lane has been thrown into doubt in recent months, with the winger-slash-playmaker firmly placed in the centre of Real Madrid’s crosshairs. Sure enough, the speculation reached boiling point when Santiago Bernabeu supremo Florentino Perez himself admitted he is an admirer of the English Professional Football Association’s 2012/13 Player and Young Player of the year awardee.
Grant is no greenhorn when it comes to pulling off big-money signings. Indeed, Chelsea signed the likes of Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda for a figure close to £30m during his stint at Stamford Bridge as director of football, and later as a manager.
But the Israeli tactician admits Bale could be on a different level altogether. When asked by Spanish daily AS as to the possibility of Los Blancos dropping a €100m bombshell bid for Bale, Grant answered, "Bale is a great talent but I’m not sure how much money he could go for.
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"In 1977, [Liverpool] paid £450,000 for [Kenny] Dalglish and that seemed crazy. Then they told us [at Chelsea] we were crazy when we paid £30m for [Andriy] Shevchenko. Then Madrid paid €96m for Cristiano [Ronaldo]", the Israeli tactician added, hinting that Bale’s price can only top the previous three.
Regardless of the fee, Grant believes Bale could be a worthwhile signing for the Spanish giants, but stressed that Real Madrid need to work on their tactics more than their spending to become a true success.
"I think Bale would fit in Madrid because big players would always fit in big clubs, but I think more than signing Bale, Real Madrid need a philosophy to their play. The club has spent looking for years for that", Grant concluded.
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