‘Only a distraction’ – Gareth Bale offers honest verdict on his future amid Spurs speculation

Gareth Bale has refused to open up on his plans for the future after he leaves Real Madrid this summer.

The 32-year-old fielded questions from the media yesterday ahead of the World Cup play-off between Wales and Austria which takes place in Cardiff this evening.

El Nacional claimed last month that Tottenham had already struck an agreement to re-sign Bale when his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu runs out at the end of the season.

Bale spent the 2020-21 season at Tottenham on loan and found regular first-team football hard to come by under Jose Mourinho, having started just ten Premier League games all season with four of those coming following the Portuguese’s dismissal (transfermarkt).

Despite his stop-start return to north London, he still managed to score an impressive 16 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions.

Bale was asked about what lies ahead for him and instead decided to claim that any thought about his next steps are not entering his thought process.

He told AP: “I know that thinking about the future can cause doubts in your own mind so I’ve not been thinking about that,”

“I’ve just been focusing on this game coming up and whatever happens in the future, I’ll decide in the future.”

When quizzed further on whether he could retire from professional fooball if Wales crash out of the World Cup playoffs, he added: “I haven’t planned for anything after yet, because I want to completely focus on this.

“I’m just taking each game as it comes, go from there. I’m not thinking about the future because I need to concentrate on now and the future is only a distraction.”

SpursWeb Opinion

Whether Bale would want to return for a third spell on significantly reduced wages compared to what he earns in Madrid could prove to be too much of an ask if Antonio Conte did want to sign him. A move to the USA for a new experience or hanging up his boots seems to be a more realistic option.

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