Bale to cost as much as Cristiano

Posted Wednesday, June 05, 2013 by Marca.com

Bale to cost as much as Cristiano Negotiations between Real Madrid and Tottenham for talented youngster Gareth Bale will probably drag on until late August, just as the summer transfer window winds down and both parties start feeling obliged to meet somewhere in the middle and shake on a deal. Negotiations will be exhausting for both parties and will only break down if one of the parties wavers before time.

With talks at an early stage, we can assure that Tottenham will start out playing hardball. Daniel Levy, the club's owner, makes us believe that he does not want to sell Bale. He leaks that he is not for sale, but he is really open to offers, especially Florentino's. The price tag he has placed on the Welshman is more than €80m but less than €100m. If he finally concedes defeat and sells his best player, he will only do so as the most expensive Premier League transfer ever. That means that it would have to be more than Chelsea paid for Fernando Torres (€58m) or Manchester United paid Leeds for Rio Ferdinand (€46m).

Daniel Levy has no issues comparing Gareth Bale to Cristiano Ronaldo. For that reason he clings to a fee that could exceed €80m. The best way to justify his sale to coach André Villas-Boas and the fans is to be able to tell them that he sold the club's crown jewel for a transfer fee similar to Cristiano Ronaldo's.