Rocket man | Bale's
market value has shot up following stunning displays against
Inter
Tottenham
have put a £50 million price
tag on Gareth
Bale – and
would bank the entire transfer fee if he leaves after removing the
25 per cent sell-on clause that was part of the original agreement
with Southampton, Goal.com UK can
reveal.
Bale moved to Spurs in the summer of 2007 for £5m, rising to £10m
with add-ons, but the deal was renegotiated the following year when
Southampton suffered financial trouble.
Tottenham paid the south coast club an early settlement payment
of £3m to reduce the final fee to £8m and allow Southampton the
immediate cash that they desperately needed.
Goal.com UK understands that, at the same time,
Southampton agreed to forfeit the 25 per cent sell-on clause that
they were originally entitled to if Bale left White Hart Lane.
This shrewd piece of negotiating would save Spurs around £10m at
his current market value if they cashed in on their prized
asset.
However, after Bale tore Inter Milan to pieces for the second
time in a fortnight during Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over the
European champions on Tuesday, manager Harry Redknapp declared that
Bale would not be sold.
“You couldn’t buy him for 25 or 30 million pounds, that’s for
sure,” said Redknapp. “If he had a value, if we wanted to sell him,
it would be way in excess of that.
"Gareth is an amazing young player. The chairman said he’s not
for sale and that’s good enough. We are building a team at
Tottenham and we are a club going places.”
Redknapp’s defiance extends to the Spurs boardroom. Tottenham
sources insist that it would take £50m to tempt them to sell a
player whose value has rocketed since he nailed down a regular
starting spot at the turn of the year.
Nevertheless, Spurs, who rewarded the Wales winger with a
four-year contract in May, have plans to extend his agreement with
the club beyond 2014.
Goal.com UK can reveal that the north London
club wanted to tie Bale down to a six-year deal during his contract
talks at the end of the season but the player’s camp insisted on a
shorter agreement.
The continued upward curve of his development and the interest
from Europe’s elite clubs, headed by Real Madrid, Manchester United
and Inter Milan, has convinced the Spurs hierarchy that they will
need greater protection for the left-sided flyer when they come
calling again next summer.
United had a £20m bid rejected last summer while Real also made
their interest clear and are expected to prepare a huge offer at
the end of the season.
