‘Make your mind up’ – Former Wales boss offers Bale advice about his future

Former Real Madrid and Wales boss John Toshack has told Gareth Bale to ignore the advice of his agent while making a decision on his future.

There has been a lot said and written about whether Bale is likely to return to Tottenham next season.

Some reports have claimed that Tottenham have the first refusal on signing the Welshman on another season-long loan deal while others have suggested that the North Londoners would have to re-negotiate the deal with Real Madrid.

The winger stated during the international break that his plan is to return to Madrid at the end of the season, which left some Spurs fans disappointed.

However, Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett later clarified that his client was only stating the reality of the current loan agreement and that he is yet to make a decision on his future.

Toshack has now asked the on-loan Real Madrid star to follow his heart and ignore advice from Barnett.

The 72-year-old told Goal.com: “Often, it is not the player who is being controversial.

“You think that they represent footballers’ interests, but those of us in the world of football know that they often do more harm than good to their players.

“When a footballer used to tell me that their agent had said whatever, I always told them: ‘I don’t want to know what your agent said. I want to know what you think. I want to talk to you. No agents’.

“When a player reaches a certain age and only has one year of contract left, there are players who start to make noises. I would tell Bale: ignore your agent and make your mind up yourself.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I cannot see Bale agreeing to terminate his bumper contract with Real Madrid or even agreeing to take a pay cut. So, the most likely scenario for next season would be another loan spell away from the Spanish capital with Los Blancos continuing to subsidise a significant portion of his wages.

However, it remains to be seen if a return to Spurs is on the cards for the Welshman as there are a lot of potential variables that can change before the summer, including whether or not he gets game time in the final run in and whether Mourinho is still in charge at the start of next season.

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