Justifying Bale’s Huge Price Tag

It may be old news now, but Gareth Bale’s transfer away from Spurs still has huge ramifications for everyone involved. His world record £86 million move certainly raised some eyebrows, and plenty have rejected the idea that the Welshman is worth that kind of money. In fact, Florentino Pérez (Real Madrid’s president) seems to be the only person in the world who actually thought that bringing the midfielder to the club was a good idea for that seemingly inflated price. In any case, due to the absurdly large amount of arguments made against his move to Madrid, I decided that there should at least be one that validates it. So, without further ado, here are a few reasons why Bale’s price tag was justified.

Tottenham Had No Reason To Sell

Plain and simple, Spurs not only had no reason to let him leave the club, but they generally opposed selling their star player. The only way Real Madrid were ever going to persuade Dan Levy and co. to let Bale move to Spain was to offer them an extraordinary amount of money. That was exactly what they did. If the situation was different and Spurs wanted to offload the Welshman for some reason, that £86 million would probably shrink down to a much smaller amount.

Real Madrid Had The Money

Earlier on in the transfer window, Real Madrid signed former Real Sociedad midfielder Asier Illarramendi for an estimated £32 million. This figure was deemed way too much for a relatively unknown player. Anyone outside Spain would probably have to quickly Google his name to find out what position he plays in (I know I did). While this player may turn out to be incredibly talented, his transfer certainly showed the world that Real Madrid were not too prudent with their money, and that they were willing to spend. Tottenham took advantage of this fact and squeezed as much money from Madrid as they could.

He is a Rare Talent

Sometimes, when there is talent like this, its impossible to pass it up. Madrid were chasing a few players who would certainly take less out of their wallet (yes Luis Suarez, I’m looking at you) but Gareth Bale’s undeniable talent could have been what persuaded the Spanish club to pay such an exorbitant price. Imagine that Real Madrid did indeed sign Luis Suarez for about £30 million less, instead of Bale. While they may have had more bang for their buck, they are altogether a less talented squad (that is, if you believe that Gareth Bale is better than Luis Suarez). This slight difference in talent could decide an El Clásico or two, or even something as big as a Champions League or La Liga title.

Its What They Had To Pay, Not What He Was Worth

Many people observing modern football seem to forget that transfer fees usually do not reflect exactly how much that player is worth. To take an example, lets look at Andy Carroll’s £35 million move from Newcastle in 2011. Did any Liverpool fan ever think that Carroll was worth that? The answer is probably no. But after selling Fernando Torres for £50 million to Chelsea, Liverpool was desperate to replace their star player so; with little time remaining in the transfer window and Newcastle seemingly unwilling to sell their main striker, they offered a ridiculous fee in order to get their man. While Carroll turned out to be a huge flop, this showed how Liverpool needed to spend big to just fill a position. This analogy bears striking resemblance to Bale’s transfer saga. Real Madrid will just be hoping it doesn’t end the same way.