Paul Robinson has admitted that he cannot see Tottenham completing a deal to re-sign Gareth Bale this summer, despite desperately wanting to see the Welshman back at his old stomping ground.
There appears to be no way back for Bale at Real Madrid with the winger seemingly not in Zinedine Zidane’s long-term plans.
The Welshman has two years left on his bumper £600,000-a-week contract at the Santiago Bernabeu and his agent, Jonathan Barnett has admitted that he plans to see out his deal (BBC Sport).
It was reported last week that Tottenham could offer Bale an exit route from the Spanish capital as the Lilywhites were readying a bid to sign their former star on loan.
However, the report suggested that the deal would only be possible if the La Liga giants agreed to pay a significant chunk of the winger’s wages.
Robinson, who shared a dressing room with Bale at White Hart Lane during the winger’s early years at the club, insisted that the only way he can see his former teammate returning to North London is if Madrid pay off the remainder of his contract.
When asked about rumours of Bale returning to Spurs, the former England goalkeeper told Football Insider: “All parties are at a complete stalemate. I would love to see him back in a Spurs shirt, I would love to see him back in the Premier League.
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“It has been a waste of one of the world’s best players who has sat there not doing anything but I can give you £600,000 reasons a week as to why he is not going anywhere. He has got a fantastic contract.
“He is fit and ready to play but Zidane does not want to play him. They are going to demand a huge transfer fee which nobody is going to pay. He is going to demand huge wages, which nobody is going to pay.
“So unless he comes to a deal with Real Madrid where they will give him a pay-off and terminate his contract I cannot see an end to it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Real Madrid are unlikely to pay off the rest of Bale’s contract. They would ideally be looking to sell him but a permanent transfer seems unlikely this summer due to the financial impact of the pandemic. I do not think Bale’s bumper wage completely rules out a potential return to Spurs as there are ways around it like paying him a big signing-on fee. However, I am not sure spending a considerable amount to have an injury-prone 31-year-old for a season is a prospect that will appeal to Daniel Levy.
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