isport

Gareth Bale would not feature for Real Madrid in their upcoming Cup game against Espanyol because of the blow that he received on his groin while being in action the other day against Granada.

However, it has been confirmed by the Madrid management that the Welshman is not seriously injured and he should be available for the next league match against Athletic Bilbao.

Bale didn’t take the ground after the half time break in the match against Granada because of his groin niggle, but, despite his absence, Los Blancos found the net twice in the second half and secured their 17th victory in the Spanish top flight this season.

Gareth Bale became the world’s most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid on September as the Spanish titans had to pay €91 million for the Welshman winger and his start in Spain took a blow as he got injured and failed to live up to his huge price tag.

After his recovery was complete, the Welshman stepped up to the plate and with a series of impressive performances with Real Madrid he managed to make it into the list of contenders for the 2013 Fifa Ballon d’Or and even though he failed on actually grabbing it, he still managed to make it into the Uefa.com team of the year.

The team includes: Manuel Neuer, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva, Philipp Lahm, David Alaba, Franck Ribery, Marco Reus, Mesut Ozil, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Gareth Bale’s career start with Real Madrid picked off slowly as he got hit with an injury just days after completing his switch to the Spanish side and even when the recovery was completed, the struggle was more than evident as he was almost invisible during Real Madrid’s match against Barcelona in October, the head chiefs and fans of the club were starting to question if the £86million spent on the player was really worth it.

Even though it took some matches for the Welshman to adapt into Spain and the playing style of Real Madrid, he has finally made the break into the team that he needed in order to prove why he was signed. Scoring 5 goals in the last 3 matches for Real Madrid and scoring a hat-trick against Real Valladolid.

Real Madrid is the polar opposite of their rivals Barcelona. While Barcelona mainly spend their earnings in improving their youth academy, Real Madrid on the other hand are the pole opposite.

Ever since Florentino Perez was elected the club president the club got its training ground rezoned and used the money to begin assembling the famous Galáctico side including players such as Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luís Figo,Roberto Carlos, Raúl, Fabio Cannavaro and David Beckham.

Although the team did not live up to the price budget as despite a UEFA Champions League and an Intercontinental Cup win in 2002, followed by the League in 2003, the club failed to win a major trophy for the next three seasons

Real Madrid have secured the signature of Gareth Bale from Tottenham for world record transfer fee of £ 86 million. The Spanish giants have been involved in negotiations with Tottenham for the last two months, but it appeared that a resolution was difficult to reach because of the significant transfer fee involved.

It was initially suggested by Real Madrid president that the € 100 million transfer fee demanded by Tottenham was a little bit excessive for Gareth Bale, but it appears that Perez has decided to pay the amount after missing out on Neymar earlier in the season.

Gareth Bale has not been involved in training for Tottenham over the last couple of weeks, while he was set to be fined by the club for not showing up for training as well. He has now sealed a world record move to Real Madrid, which will also see him on a contract worth around £ 300,000 per week. He has signed a six-year contract with the Spanish club. His arrival could result in the departures of players like Mesut Ozil and Angel di Maria. Cristiano Ronaldo was the previous record transfer for his £ 80 million transfer from Manchester United in 2009. He was thought to be unhappy at the prospect of being replaced by Bale.

“I have had six very happy years at Tottenham but it’s the right time to say goodbye. We’ve had some special times together and I’ve loved every minute of it. I am not sure there is ever a good time to leave a club where I felt settled and was playing the best football of my career to date. I know many players talk of their desire to join the club of their boyhood dreams, but I can honestly say, this is my dream come true,” said Bale.

Tottenham Hotspur is prepared to part with their prized winger Gareth Bale this summer and will offload the player to Spanish giants Real Madrid, but it will cost the Santiago Bernabeu club a whopping £ 103 million.

Real Madrid have made it clear they are willing to break the bank in their pursuit of the Welsh winger, who has been a prime target for Madrid president Florentino Perez as he looks to hand over another Galactico to new manager Carlo Ancelotti but it seems Spurs are adamant at holding out for a massive fee for a player they bought for a few million pounds back in 2008.

However, it has also been revealed by a Spanish newspaper that the capital giants are willing to match the extraordinary asking price for the player, which would shatter the transfer record of £ 80 million they paid Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer of 2009, but they want to offer £ 86 million in cash and winger Angel di Maria as a makeweight in the deal.

The Spanish newspaper has claimed Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas is a huge fan of the Argentine winger and sees him as an ideal replacement if Gareth Bale indeed swaps the white of Spurs for the white of Madrid.

Meanwhile, Premier League champions Manchester United are also in the running for the signature of a player who won all the individual awards in the Premier League last season but it is certain they will not pay a dime beyond £ 60 million for a player they lost out to when Bale signed for Spurs from Southampton.

United want a marquee signing to kick off the reign of David Moyes and see Gareth Bale as an ideal player if their pursuit of Ronaldo doesn’t bear fruit.

Tottenham will be making the trip to the Liberty stadium to play against Swansea city during the weekend. This will make or break the season for Tottenham, as it is one of the crucial matches from now till end of the season.

Andre Villas-Boas’ men come into the encounter after having lost the three recent matches, but the international break would have certainly provided them with so much needed time away from the media criticism. As a result, Swansea midfielder Nathan Dyer expects Tottenham to be back to their best in this match.

He has said that the team should be extremely wary of winger Gareth Bale, who has already proven that he is one of the best players in the world right now. The 23-year-old has managed to score 16 goals this season, while most of them have come in recent weeks. He also has contributed several assists as well. Swansea have been one of the surprise packages this season, as they have been able to sustain their position near the top of the table while also managing to lift their first ever silverware. They will be hoping to finish this season on a strong note.

They come into the match after having won just two matches in the last five. “Gareth has always been quite big, but it’s the pace. I don’t remember him always being that fast. And now he’s got power. I’ve always said he’s the best player I’ve played with. His left foot, his delivery from a young age was unbelievable. Now he’s added more to it. There’s not much you can do to stop him. If he’s on form, he’s on form,” said Dyer. The 25-year-old has had an impressive season for Swansea after making 29 appearances. He also has scored three goals in these matches as well.

Gareth Bale has hailed the Wales team for putting up a good performance in the friendly match against Austria which was played at the Liberty Stadium on Wednesday. Wales won that match by 2-1.

It was Bale himself who was the stand out player for Wales in that match. The Tottenham winger was in great form and he was the one who opened the scoring for his team in the 21st minute of the match. Later in the second half, Sam Vokes doubled the lead of Wales.

A goal by Austria’s Mark Janko in the 75th minute reduced the lead to 1-2, but, that was the first and last goal scored by the Austrian team in the game.

Talking to the reporters after the match, Bale said, “We played sensibly throughout the game. We just kept things simple. This win has really boosted our confidence and we will go into the world cup qualifiers next month in a good frame of mind.”

When asked about his own performance in the match, Bale said, “It’s always nice to score goals and when your goal helps team to secure a win, it feels even better. It’s a team game and it’s all about contributing for the team.
“We shouldn’t forget the contribution of the defenders in this win. I felt they were outstanding today. They made some great clearances.”

“The whole team contributed in this victory. Every player did a good job on the field.”

The manager of Wales team, Chris Coleman, also praised Bale for his great performance in the match. Coleman said, “It was really a fantastic goal by Gareth. He is a player of high calibre and we are lucky to have such a player in our team.”

This was Bale’s 39th match for Wales. The Tottenham winger has scored 10 goals for his national side so far.

The Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has said that it would be almost impossible for the winger Gareth Bale to be sold in the January transfer window. The 23-year-old Welshman has been linked with many clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, while he has also recently admitted his interest in moving to a foreign club.

The Real Madrid manager José Mourinho is one of the huge admirers of the Welshman and he is keen to bring him to the Santiago Bernabeu. It is thought that the two clubs have agreed a deal with each other after the transfer of the Croatian midfielder Luka Modric.

Aside from the publicly announced agreement between the two clubs over various aspects like coaching and training, it is also thought that Real Madrid have the first preference on Gareth Bale if the club decided to ever sell him. Bale is one of the most highly valued players in the world, with Tottenham putting a pricetag of more than £ 45 million on his services. Ahead of the January transfer window, it has been rumoured that the player will be subjected to bids from Real Madrid. The manager Andre Villas-Boas, though, ruled out the possibility of the club selling him in January by saying that it was almost impossible probability.

“It is completely impossible he will leave in January. The transfer window always gives you the opportunity to strengthen your squad. Teams will lose players to African Cup of Nations, but there is a chance to strengthen a little bit. Ideally you’d prefer to avoid it. It’s for us, we should plan our season, stick to players we see in summer, define our season in our season plan and go on from there,” said Andre Villas-Boas. Bale already has six goals from 14 matches played in the campaign so far.

The Manchester City defender Pablo Zabaleta has said that he will not be changing his style of play for the visit of Tottenham. The Argentine defender will be up against the Tottenham winger Gareth Bale, who was at his imperious best in the last time he visited Manchester.

Gareth Bale absolutely destroyed Manchester United in the 3-2 win for Tottenham a few weeks ago. Even though he has not been at the same level since then, Pablo Zabaleta still reckons that Gareth Bale will be one of the players to watch out for in the match.

Yet, he will not be changing his style of play because he has never done it for any other player. Pablo Zabaleta has praised the Gareth Bale by saying that he has everything in his locker. He can not only dribble past players but also score wonderful goals as well. The Argentine defender has come up against the likes of Juan Mata, Ryan Giggs, and Theo Walcott during his time at Manchester City, and he is prepared to face the challenge from the Welsh winger as well. Tottenham come into the match looking to end the unbeaten home record of Manchester City, which has stood for a few years.

“It is a great motivation when you are against a good player. He is one of the best wingers in the world. He has great pace. He is very fast and he has a great cross. His technique is very good. He has got a very good left foot. He scores a lot of goals, so he is a fantastic player. I just do everything the same, whether it’s Gareth Bale or another winger,” said Zabaleta ahead of the match this weekend. Manchester City can move into the second place with a victory over Tottenham.