Falque braced for Real and Bale reunion

While Gareth Bale longed to fulfil a childhood dream by joining Real Madrid, a curious twist of fate saw him share the Tottenham dressing room with someone who not only had such a chance at the age of just 10, but rejected it. Now Iago Falque and Bale will cross paths again at Vallecas.

Saturday sees Falqué renew acquaintances with the team he could have moved to. Indeed, the attacking midfielder, who made waves as a kid at Vigo outfit Victoria, even sported the Real shirt during a couple of youth cups. However, after coming through his 'Los Blancos' trial with flying colours - he was named player of the tournament at the Maspalomas International Tournament - the prodigiously gifted youngster ultimately decided to try his luck elsewhere.

"Barça knew I was on trial and I held talks with several clubs before deciding to go there. I was very young; I was barely 11, and playing for Barça is a dream come true for any kid. I'm really happy to have had the chance to spend those years at Barcelona, even if it was only in the academy", Falqué claims.

A move to Juventus and loan spells at Bari and Villarreal B followed for Falqué, before Tottenham came calling. Unfortunately, the Spaniard failed to make an impression in North London: "My path was blocked by Bale; I play in a similar position to him and it was tough to get any game time with such a great player standing in my way. Competing for a place with him, Modric, Lamela and so on was no mean feat", he explains.