According to thedaily mirror Barca are going to bid 25 million for Gareth in january, i know such a derisory amout will be rejected'but i hope Levy laughs in their Face at the offer then tells them he's not for sale for the foreseable future
Just first of many fishing expeditions by the tabloids, Harry has already stated there is no amount of money will make us sell him. And this won't be the last article either!
Media stirring. The story actually suggests that they're going to bid for him in the summer, by offering players and cash to equal £25m, while tapping him up in the media in the meantime. Leaving aside the irony that the author's somehow missed, I can't see Levy sitting back and taking the same **** that Arsenal stood for over Fabregas' extended transfer saga. The fact that fans of our rivals are laughing at that bid tells you just how derisory it is.
I recall just after we beat Inter in the CL, their president said they would love to get him, but not even 30 mil would be enough. So this bull about 25 mil really pees me off, yes he probably would demand 40 + on the open market but he isn't so end of story. Although I doubt it.
The problem is that any player worth their salt would want to play for Barca - they are the best. The concern would be if Bale's head was turned by it all and he no longer gave his all for us. Agreed the offer would need to be doubled but one day he is going to want to go, like Hoddle, Waddle and Gazza before him. The best we can hope is that we get a few more years of him.
No, the BEST we can hope for is a new stadium a league win and players like Bale not even considering going elsewhere.
Agreed - I should have added realistically the most we can hope for .... Even with a new stadium, not sure we can stop the very best players wanting to try their hand with someone like Barca, but your scenario will stop them going to the likes of Chelsea or Arsenal and that is a day I look forward to.
This is the problem. Once Barca express their interest it definitely turns a player's head. Eventually they drive the price down with their constant nibbling away at the player's loyalty and commitment to his club. I think Spurs are going to have to get used to this right up to and through the summer. Bale seems like a Spurs lad, so it will be interesting to see how his resolve holds out in the face of Barca flattery. Modric on the other hand, I feel is already looking for his exit route.
Not so much an exit it's about money. He has realised how much Chelsea were willing to pay him and is looking for an increase. Plus PISKIE this is about the only way you can have a pop at Spurs atm and it's not very convincing. It will become harder and you will just have to get used to that.
Barca are THE team of the moment. That small capsule in time when all the right ingredients are there, they all combine, and bingo...you've got the almost perfect team. That won't last forever, players will retire, or leave, and Barca will still be a great side - but maybe not pretty much invincible, as they appear to be now. I agree with Spurf, we have the basis of a great team - maybe a few tweaks are needed here & there, but we have what can be the beginnings of one of the great teams - not just in the U.K. either - but in Europe. I really believe that for the first time in 50+ years, we could be on the verge of something really special. Where it goes from here, is mostly down to Levy & the board.
Piskie They all showed interest after the Inter Milan destruction, so what?. Bale's a level headed lad with no mercenary intent, who's happy to develop his career at the right pace, being part of a 1st 11. Out of interest, are Man U bracing themselves for offers for Rooney and Nani?, are City ready to ward off suitors for Silva and Aguero? are Arsenal trying to keep their best players...oh wait!
This is the most ridiculous rumour i've heard in months, normally reading a rumour about one of our better players gets me a little worried in case it might be true, but this is so blatantly nonsense that's it's barely even worth discussion. On current form Bale is worth £60 million at the very least.
This is such a non-story that I am surprised so many are biting at it. The offer, as has already been stated, is derisory, especially as Bale only recently signed a new contract. Levy would not sell at even double that, so an offer at £25 million, even if it were to be made, would be seen as nothing more than an utter piss-take. Even the media cannot truly believe that we'd let Bale go so cheaply. We are not Bolton, and we don't have to sell. Neither is this anything like the Arsenal/Fabregas affair, where the only reason that Arsenal were blackmailed into accepting half of Fabregas' true worth was because the player, himself, had compromised his team by stating that he would only play for Barca, giving Barca an extremely unfair advantage in negotiations. Plus, what appears to be lost in all of this, is the fact that Bale, unlike Moddy, has stated, on several occasions, that he has no intention of leaving Spurs at this stage of his career. In some ways, I truly hope that Barca have expressed an interest in buying Bale, rather than this being another complete hack-journo fabrication, because it will give me a degree of pleasure when Levy writes back to them with a firm rejection, and tells them not to bother writing again. Soon, the media will wake up to the fact that when Levy says' "Spurs will not sell any of its star players" they'll actually believe him.
True but be reasonable - are transfer lies about Bentley "being linked" or "being lined up" by Cardiff or whatever gonna sell papers? I can't even imagine that the local rags would get much out of that. I presume every team has five or six players on decent wages who they can't get rid of, don't they? What the HELL has happened to Bostock?
