Advertisement
VIllas-Boas. John Walton/EMPICS Sport
Transfer Saga

AVB blasts Ancelotti as Bale nears €100m switch to Real Madrid

The Spurs boss insists he can see his talisman staying despite speculation that a deal could be conclude next week.

TOTTENHAM BOSS ANDRE Villas-Boas upped the stakes in the Gareth Bale transfer saga when he blasted Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti for his public pursuit of the highly-prized Welsh international.

Villas-Boas insisted that Bale was not for sale and even pictured the 24-year-old still in a Spurs shirt this season.

Bale is widely expected to complete a world record move, valued at around 100 million euros, to the Spanish giants next week.

But Villas-Boas said that the suggestion the player is on the brink of leaving White Hart Lane is just speculation.

“In my opinion Carlo was wrong to make it public,” said Villas-Boas, after seeing his side lose 5-2 to Monaco in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

“We had conversations with Real and these were then confirmed publically which, in my opinion, was wrong.”

Villas-Boas added: “These rumours of an imminent transfer are not true.”

Bale, who has a foot injury, remained in London where he reportedly had already said his farewells to his Tottenham teammates.

“Normally this kind of situation is monitored by the Football Association. The only thing we can say officially is that the player is not for sale,” added Villas-Boas.

Gareth is a guy I really like. We are talking with Real Madrid because there is respect between the two clubs following the transfer last season of Luka Modric.

“We are building a great team for next season. We envisage the future with Gareth. But we know that in football anything is possible.”

As Bale works on his fitness, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was due to sit down for his first face-to-face talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in Miami next week, possibly on Wednesday, The Times reported on Saturday.

Real are keen to see Bale at the Bernabeu ahead of their opening league game against Real Betis on August 18.

Bale is set to become the most expensive player of all time, an honour currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved from Manchester United to Real for 94 million euros (£82 million) in 2009.

Levy is reportedly holding out for a transfer fee in excess of £105 million while Real are looking to strike a deal at around £85 million with a makeweight, possibly Fabio Coentrao, thrown in.

Brilliant 87th-minute Stokes strike hands Celtic opening day victory

Dempsey departs Spurs for the MLS

Your Voice
Readers Comments
7
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.