Real Madrid Prepared to Break World Record Fee to Sign Gareth Bale

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Real Madrid president Florentino Perez insists breaking the world record transfer fee would be worth it for Gareth Bale, as Darren Lewis of The Mirror has reported.

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The Wales international has enjoyed an excellent season with Tottenham, and Real are willing to break the current record of £80 million they set in 2009 for Cristiano Ronaldo, with an offer of £85 million for Bale, as Duncan Castles of the Sunday Times reported at the weekend.

Tottenham are confident they can keep the 23-year-old at the club, as Darren Lewis of The Mirror reported last month.

However, Real are still pursuing Bale openly, although Perez recognises that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy does not like him discussing the player in public.

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I don’t want to talk about Bale too much because Spurs are a friendly club  and it would irritate them if we talked about him.

I know their president well and he doesn’t like these things.

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Money has never been an issue for Real in the chase for success, though. The Bernabeu side have broken the world-record transfer fee four times since 2000, with the captures of Ronaldo from Manchester United, Kaka from AC Milan, Zinedine Zidane from Juventus and Luis Figo from Barcelona.

Former Portugal international Figo cost £37.4 million 13 years ago, as Ben Findon of the Daily Telegraph reported, and Perez cites his arrival as a reason why big transfer fees can equate to success.

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I demonstrated in the year 2000 that with these players you can change dynamic, you can shift from winning to losing.

Then you have to look carefully at who the player in question is.

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Earlier this month, Mark Irwin of The Sun reported that Real wanted Bale to hand in a transfer request to force a move to Spain.

But Bale's former manager, Harry Redknapp, is convinced the player will stay at White Hart Lane, as he told TalkSport.

Bale scored 21 times in 34 Premier League appearances for Spurs last season, providing the team with the impetus to challenge for a Champions League spot.

However, Andre Villas-Boas' team were denied a place in the Top 4 by North London rivals Arsenal on the final day of the campaign.

In his most recent interview with Spurs TV last week, Bale hinted he will stay at White Hart Lane as he enjoys the way Tottenham are playing under Villas-Boas, as David Kent of the Daily Mail reported.

Real and Perez are refusing to give up on signing the player just yet, though, which will add to the speculation over Bale's future this summer.