Danny Murphy has urged Gareth Bale to stop wasting his career at Real Madrid and move back to the Premier League again this summer.
Bale’s name is never too far away from the headlines during the transfer window and that is proving to be the case this summer, with rumours once again suggesting the possibility of a return to Spurs (Football.London).
However, the Welshman’s agent, Jonathan Barnett has ruled out any possibility of the former Spurs star leaving Real Madrid this summer (BBC Sport).
Murphy urged the 31-year-old to leave the Santiago Bernabeu if he does not want to risk looking back on his career with regrets.
The former Spurs midfielder wrote in his Daily Mail column: “The £350,000-a-week question is what the Welsh star should do next. He seems to be digging his heels in, aware that the bumper contract Real gave him in 2016 still has two years to run.
“I can understand the principle, but would still urge him to reconsider. You are a long time retired and I’d hate for Gareth to look back with regrets.
“He’s started fewer than half of Real’s league games in the last four years and there is little prospect of becoming a Zidane favourite. At 31, I don’t see how it could be helpful to stay on the sidelines for two more years.”
MORE SPURS STORIES
Murphy insisted that playing football was more important to him during his days as a player rather than the money he was earning.
He said: “I understand everyone is different and I can’t say what was right for me would be right for Gareth but I couldn’t see myself getting into this position. Playing football was always more important to my happiness than the next pound. I took a pay cut to join Tottenham from Charlton because it felt right professionally.
“I signed for Charlton after I left Liverpool but when things were a bit rocky with Alan Curbishley, Spurs came in at a lower salary offer. For me, my wellbeing came from playing football so I agreed. Later, that’s why I joined Fulham from Spurs.”
The former England midfielder claimed that Manchester United could swoop for the former Tottenham star but insisted that a move to North London would be a better fit form him.
Murphy added: “Even the biggest clubs are looking for younger players with longevity. A couple could afford him, like Manchester United, but would they be willing to spend their budget on someone who’s played irregularly this year?
“Tottenham would be a better fit, he knows the place and would be a big fish there. There wouldn’t be the same pressure to win every single week. I got to know Gareth a little at Spurs, our time overlapped there and he was a likeable, hard-working kid. Quiet but no arrogance or big-time Charlie attitude.
“I’d say to him now as an admirer, don’t let yourself down by making a hasty decision to take on Real Madrid and regret it later in life thinking you’ve wasted three or four years hardly playing.”
Spurs Web Opinion
As Murphy mentions in the column, all players are different and Bale seems to have made a decision that he has achieved everything he wants at the top level. He now seems to be content picking up his big salary and I imagine we will probably see him move to the Chinese Super League or the MLS after running down his contract at Madrid.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
