Real Madrid and Spurs in talks over Gareth Bale move, confirms agent

Jonathan Barnett told the BBC that the Wales forward has his heart set on a move back to Spurs and that the two clubs are in talks over settling a deal.

Gareth Bale’s seven-year career at Real Madrid could be drawing to a close after his agent, Jonathan Barnett, told the BBC that he is in negotiations with Tottenham Hotspur for Bale to return to his former club and ply his trade in the Premier League again under José Mourinho after being frozen out of the first-team picture at the Bernabéu under Zinedine Zidane.

“Gareth still loves Spurs, it’s where he wants to be,” Barnett said, intimating the two clubs are in negotiations over the 30-year-old, who moved in the opposite direction in 2013 for a world record fee of around €100m.

Bale has enjoyed considerable success at the Bernabéu, winning four Champions League titles, two LaLigas and a Copa del Rey, scoring memorable goals in the final finals of both the European and domestic cup competitions.

Bale and Zidane can't see eye-to-eye

However, he has found life difficult under Zidane and barely featured for Madrid after the restart of the 2019-20 season. Injuries have also dogged his career in Madrid but the Wales forward has amassed 251 games for the reigning Liga champions, scoring 105 goals and providing 68 assists.

No fee has yet been put forward for Bale to return to Spurs, but the Premier League side’s interest in Sergio Reguilón could help to smooth matters and the two clubs have traditionally enjoyed cordial relations in the transfer market. Madrid’s long-standing interest in England midfielder Dele Alli could also be a factor if Mourinho and Daniel Levy can be persuaded to include the 24-year-old midfielder in the deal.