Ex-Real Madrid chief: 'We have the means to land Bale'

Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon believes the Spanish giants will make a bid for Tottenham’s Welsh wing wizard Gareth Bale this summer.

The Welshman has scored 15 goals in 23 Premier League games this season, the most recent two coming in Monday night’s spectacular victory over West Ham.

With just 10 seconds left on the clock, Bale struck a 25-yard thunderbolt to give Spurs a 3-2 win which moved them up to third ahead of Sunday’s crunch north London derby at White Hart Lane.

Since the start of 2013 Bale accounts for more than 50 per cent of Spurs’ total goals and he has firmly established himself as one of, if not the best player in the Premier League.

His exploits now seeing him installed as favourite to win the PFA Player of the Year award in England while boss Andre Villas-Boas hailing him as a "very, very special".

Bale’s future has been a point of discussion for the last two summers after his breakthrough season in 2010/11, however, up to now it has been largely talk rather than a definitive bid.

Yet with the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo potentially leaving Real Madrid in the summer for Paris Saint-Germain or a return to England, Bale represents a similar sort of explosive player, capable of powering past opponents while delivering fantastic goals.

Calderon, who was president at the Bernabeu from 2006 to 2009, said: “He’s a fantastic player. He is one of those players you would always like to have in your team. It’s true we (Real Madrid) have spent a lot of money in the last three or four years but I think we are in a position to pay the money they are going to ask for.

“There is always a limit but Real Madrid is in a very healthy situation, economically speaking, so it would be in the position to sign him. I’m sure it will be a high amount of money because he is a fantastic player. A lot of clubs would like to have him.”

Two incredible performances against Internazionale in the Champions League in 2010 alerted Europe’s top clubs to Bale’s talents, but the Welshman has gone on to improve considerably since then.

The 23-year-old can now operate as effectively down the middle as he can on either flank and his logic-defying free-kicks have led to comparisons between the former Southampton man and Ronaldo.

“Gareth is a world-class player and at the moment he is scoring last-minute goals that are winning games for us,” said Spurs team-mate Scott Parker. “Words can’t really describe how well he’s playing at the moment. Yet again he stepped up and got the three points. He was fantastic.”

READ MORE:

- OPINION: Tottenham's ambition may struggle to burn as brightly as Bale's brilliance

- VIDEO: World at his feet, but where now for Gareth Bale?

 

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