Some Spurs fans on social media have been left extremely disappointed after Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed in his first press conference as the new Tottenham head coach that Gareth Bale will not be returning to the club.
Bale struggled to get regular game time for large parts of last season but still ended the campaign with 16 goals in all competitions.
The 32-year-old did not have the impact he would have hope for at the European Championships with Wales, who were knocked out in the round of 16 stage by Denmark.
It was reported before Nuno’s appointment that Daniel Levy will give the next Spurs head coach the option to re-sign the forward on loan for another season.
However, some sources from Spain have claimed recently that the Welshman is likely to see out the final year of his contract at Real Madrid.
Nuno has now made it clear that Bale will not be returning to North London, with the Portuguese coach simply stating: “He will not be part of our squad” when asked about the Real Madrid star.
While some Spurs fans were happy to move on from Bale and focus on other targets, several were left heartbroken that they will not see him in a Tottenham shirt again.
Glad we can put this story to bed now. I loved having him back but at least we can use the 220k a week wages on other players who will be long term signings.
— Paul (@PaulDuffield7) July 16, 2021
Dont know why this gave me so much relief
Now let's sign a decent RW plz— Hamza JM 🇦🇺🦘 (@HamzaSpursQPR) July 16, 2021
💔
— Daniel (@Daniel__Nash) July 17, 2021
pain https://t.co/rkPUtgLLLV pic.twitter.com/rRrFOzEfvC
— – (@ThfcAnton) July 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/thfc_fletchh/status/1416150083905724421
— ‘ (@thfcprime) July 16, 2021
Not everything is Mourinho’s fault but criminal to waste him like he did https://t.co/fFEI10uKOt
— Daniel (@DanielTHFC6) July 16, 2021
https://twitter.com/mendiratta_arav/status/1416192557294387200
https://twitter.com/zach_cullinane/status/1416189455120142340
Erik Lamela has outlasted even Gareth Bale. He will quickly become a Nuno favourite. 😂
— McLean (@cockneymacks) July 16, 2021
Spurs Web Opinion
From the way Espirito Santo answered the question, I suspect it was him that turned down the chance to re-sign Bale. That is not surprising considering that the Welshman might not have been able to cope physically with the demands of the 47-year-old’s style of play.