The stage at the Santiago Bernabéu was dismantled today without Gareth Bale having set foot on it. Real Madrid face Athletic Bilbao in the stadium on Sunday morning with the Welshman’s move agreed between Tottenham and the Spanish club but still not officially signed off. Until that happens, there is caution – publicly, at least. Madrid hope to be able to make the deal official in time to present him before he reports for international duty with Wales on Tuesday.
The Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to talk about Bale at the club’s Valdebebas training ground, insisting: “He’s still a Tottenham player.” He then added: “I don’t know how long he will be a Tottenham player for but today he is.”
Sources at Madrid claimed that a deal had been agreed worth £78m, around ?90m. That would not make Bale the world’s most expensive player. When Cristiano Ronaldo moved from Manchester United to Spain four years ago, he cost £80m, around ?93m. But the figures coming out of White Hart Lane are rather higher, with some sources insisting that the real fee is more than ?100m. André Villas-Boas had already insisted that Bale would go for a “world record”.
Bale’s lawyers were in Madrid on Friday and Saturday seeking to finalise the legal paperwork and have the deal formally signed off. He is expected to sign a six?year contract on ?10m a year after tax, the same salary as Ronaldo and Kaká. If they can get everything tied up in time, Madrid’s intention is for him to travel to the Spanish capital before joining up with Wales.
The transfer window closes on Monday night, finally bringing this saga to an end one way or the other, and Ancelotti admitted: “I am waiting impatiently for Monday because after that we won’t talk about the market.”
The Italian then jokingly added: “Well, I have experience and I know that after that we’ll talk about the winter market.”
Ancelotti had begun his pre-match press conference by announcing that he did not want to talk about the transfer window. When he was inevitably asked by British reporters about Bale, he giggled and apologised, adding: “I know you came here for this, but ?”
Asked to give his opinion of Bale, the Italian tried to refuse. “Everyone knows him [anyway]: he is a fantastic player, everyone knows this. But he is a Tottenham player. I don’t know how long he will be a Tottenham player but today he is.”
The Italian also insisted that he was not frustrated by the delay or about the welcome that awaits Bale in the Spanish capital, even if he framed his answers in general terms. “I don’t want to talk about Ronaldo [and Bale], but in general when a player comes to a team he comes to help the other players to be a better team,” Ancelotti said. “So I think that all players think that if a new player comes it is good for the team and therefore for them too.”
He added: “I’m working with my players every day and my mind is not on the players who are not here. We have to work, we have to prepare. So for me it is not frustrating. I am happy to play with these players and if another one comes I will be happy too.”
Ancelotti also dismissed suggestions that Mesut Ozil or Iker Casillas would leave the club, but he did admit that Kaká could depart. The Brazilian announced that he wanted to leave Madrid on Thursday night. “Kaká was clear to the media, the club understands his decision, and I think that in the next few days, they will come up for a positive solution for Kaká and the club,” Ancelotti said.
© Guardian News & Media Limited 2014
