Gareth Bale was arguably one of the best players to grace the lilywhite shirt of Tottenham Hotspur.
So when he left, fans were devastated. The club lost one of the best players in the squad.
Despite the sadness around his departure, the club received a substantial fee from Real Madrid. Madrid paid £85million (BBC) for the star Welshman – a record outgoing transfer for Spurs.
It was clear that Spurs would need to splash their newfound cash on a replacement. It was always going to be difficult replacing a player of Bale’s quality. The club used the money to fund the transfers of seven players in the following years.
They would become known as The Bale Seven.
Out of the seven that were purchased, just two remain. Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela are the only two that have continued their tenure at the club, whilst for the others their career in north London didn’t eventuate to the same extent.
We look at the other five players that were purchased with the Bale money, and see where they are now.
Roberto Soldado
It didn’t quite work out for Roberto Soldado at Tottenham. The Spaniard was purchased for £26million (BBC). It was considered a hefty sum, but there was plenty of hype for Soldado so the fee was justified.
He had a successful stint at Valencia prior to his move to north London. However, he lacked goals at Spurs and was eventually sold off.
Where is he now?
Soldado now finds himself at Granada CF. He joined the club on the 15th July 2019 on a one-year deal following a two-season stint at Fenerbahçe.
At the age of 34, it is likely that this season could be his last in his professional career.
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