Real Madrid may have dropped a hint regarding Gareth Bale’s future by handing the Welshman a new squad number, report Football London.
Bale’s return to Tottenham last season did not prove to be the fairytale that some Spurs fans were hoping for.
Even though the winger finished the season strongly, notching up 16 goals in all competitions during the campaign, the Tottenham faithful were robbed of the opportunity to watch the returning superstar in flesh in what proved to be a season to forget.
There was some speculation that Bale could return to Spurs for the upcoming season but that was quashed by Nuno Espirito Santo, who confirmed in his first press conference as Tottenham head coach that the 32-year-old would not be coming back.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has opened the door for Bale to remain at Real Madrid, admitting the pacy winger is a part of his plans.
However, Los Blancos’ decision regarding the former Tottenham man’s shirt number hinted he might not have a future at the Santiago Bernabeu, as suggested by Football London.
Bale, who previously occupied the number 11 shirt, was seen wearing number 50 for Madrid in their pre-season friendly against AC Milan on Sunday.
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Football.London note that the rest of the Real Madrid squad were all wearing their original shirt numbers.
That potentially hints that Bale has not yet been pencilled in by Ancelotti as being part of his plans for the upcoming season.
Spurs Web Opinion
One should not read too much into shirt numbers in pre-season but the fact that Bale was the only one who was wearing an odd number could potentially be telling.
However, I would not be surprised if Bale has a key role to play under Ancelotti next season.
Besides, given his astronomical wages, it seems unlikely that a move away from the Spanish capital is on the cards for the 32-year-old.
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