Gareth Bale Transfer Rumours: Latest News on the Tottenham Hotspur Star

As more and more big-name players switch clubs this summer, the future of Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale continues to remain up in the air.

Bale was instrumental in Spurs' success last season and will no doubt be a crucial factor in any push they make toward the top four next season as well—meaning that the Londoners aren't exactly likely to sell him.

However, with huge transfer fees touted and a slew of clubs reportedly interested in the Welsh winger, there's no certainty about where Bale will end up this summer.

Read on for all the latest news surrounding Bale and a potential summer transfer; bookmark it and keep checking back in as this will be updated right throughout the 2013 summer transfer window.

Latest News on Real Madrid Switch

UPDATE: Monday, August 12, at 8:11 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

According to reports from The Telegraph, talks have again broken down between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur. The North London club are thought to be frustrated with Madrid's "confused stance" regarding Gareth Bale, with questions emerging about the Spanish club's ability to produce a world-record transfer fee—which it's clear Los Blancos would need to produce.

Bleacher Report's Guillem Balague reports in his guest column that Madrid have indeed produced a €100 million bid for Bale, but Spurs have rejected the offer.

"

Spurs wanted Jese Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata to be part of the deal (and if players were going to be included, it needed to be based on the contingency that they do not count for more than 10 percent of the whole agreement), but neither of them want to go to the London club. So it is all about money now, unless Madrid convince Levy and AVB to include a player that is surplus to the requirements at the Bernabeu (like Fabio Coentrao).

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Sunday, August 4, at 4:10 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Real Madrid are thought to be on the verge of a deal for Bale, with reports emerging from various sources that Los Blancos have made an £85 million bid.

The Daily Mirror reports that the fee has all but been agreed by the two clubs, with Bale thought to have told manager Andre Villas-Boas that he wants to leave Tottenham for Madrid (per Sky Sports). In fact, the star winger reportedly autographed fellow Spurs' players shirts on Friday as he bid an "emotional farewell" to the North London club (per The Sun, h/t FoxNews).

The notion of an £85 million bid for Bale has quickly spread around football circles, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressing his dismay via The Guardian.

"

It [the transfer] makes a joke of the financial fair play regulations. I find it amazing that in the year the regulations come in, world football has gone completely crazy. You wonder what kind of impact and effect financial fair play has on the football world. It looks like it has made everyone worse than before.

It's never good to lose a big player, especially a British player. It's important that the Premier League keeps the best players.

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Thursday, August 1, at 2:14 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed via Sky Sports that the club are in talks with Tottenham over a potential sale for Gareth Bale, but refused to talk any more about the pending transfer.

"

It is difficult to talk about Bale because at the moment he is not a Real Madrid player. I believe the club is in talks to find a solution and we will see what happens. I am not used to talking about players who are not in my team and it would not be right to do so.

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Wednesday, July 31, at 11:08 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Lots of news at the moment surrounding Gareth Bale's potential move to Madrid; the highlights of which been listed below with links provided as well.

"

• Sky Sports report that a bid of over £85 million has been made by Madrid for Bale, though the offer does not not include any Madrid players.
• According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Gareth Bale has reportedly told Andre Villas-Boas that he wants Spurs to accept the bid.
• The Guardian reports that Tottenham are indeed prepared to sell Bale to Madrid—as long the Spanish club include striker Alvaro Morata in addition to an £86 million bid. A similar report came via The Times, though they state that the player Spurs would ask for in return is former midfielder Luka Modric.
  
• The London Evening Standard state that Tottenham chairman Dan Levy will accept an offer of cash (without players), as long as that offer is more than £100 million.
• Meanwhile, Real Madrid sporting director Zinedine Zidane has urged Spurs to let Bale talk to them about a potential deal. The former French international was quoted via The Daily Mail as saying that "if he has expressed a desire to join Madrid then Tottenham should give him permission to speak with us".

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Monday, July 29, at 1:11 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Real Madrid are reportedly drawing closer and closer to signing Bale this summer, with reports emerging that the Spanish club have made an incredible £95 million move for the Wales international. The Sun (and other media outlets) report that Madrid will offer £50 million cash to the North London club as well as the £25 million-rated Angel Di Maria and £20 million-rated Fabio Coentrao.

Tottenham are reportedly still standing firm on their refusal to sell Bale but according to SkyBet (h/t Sky Sports), the winger has been backed in to odds-on to leave this summer. SkyBet's Chris Spicer said:

"

The majority of bets throughout the summer have been on Bale remaining at Tottenham, but we've seen a sudden shift in him leaving and we now offer 7/4 on him staying at Spurs. Reports suggest that Real Madrid have now made their move and that Bale is unhappy that it has been swiftly rebuffed. Our punters now seem confident Real will get their man and Spurs will have to settle for their sizeable compensation.

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Thursday, July 25, at 9:02 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

The London Evening Standard (h/t Independent) report that Bale is likely to turn down a move to Real Madrid due to him wanting to be close to his family in Wales. However, that report doesn't seem to be in line with those coming out of Spain, as local media outlet Marca (h/t Eurosport) report that Bale is set for a big-money switch to the Spanish capital after being left out of Spurs' pre-season friendly.

"

FRONT PAGE: Gareth Bale not in the Tottenham team today. Today's Marca claims it's because he's off to Real Madrid pic.twitter.com/DmMDenDytS

— Eurosport.com EN (@EurosportCom_EN) July 24, 2013

"

According to The Daily Mirror, Tottenham are starting to worry that Bale is being unsettled by the constant pressure from Los Blancos this summer, and could well leave the London-based club before the close of the summer transfer window. They report that Spurs want Bale to commit to a new deal at the club to confirm his commitment to them, despite signing a new four-year deal just last summer. 

UPDATE: Monday, July 22, at 10:51 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Real Madrid have long been linked as the most likely club to land Bale this summer, and while their interest in the winger was thought to have quelled somewhat, latest reports have the Spanish powerhouse still interested in making a strong move for the 23-year-old.

Spanish paper El Confidential (h/t the Daily Star) report that Los Blancos are on the verge of a £85 million move for Bale in order to tempt Spurs' chairman Dan Levy into selling his prized asset. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti was coy about a potential move for Bale—instead choosing to comment on the squad that he does have and how talented the players at his disposal are (per Sky Sports).

"

I am happy with the squad and I don't want to talk about other [potential] players out of respect for those [players] who are here.

"

---End of update---

Latest News on Staying at Spurs

UPDATE: Monday, August 12, at 8:16 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed via The Guardian that while Gareth Bale did not report for Spurs' only home preseason match against Espanyol on the weekend, the star winger was under no obligation to do so given that he was injured at the time.

Bale has not played for Tottenham Hotspur since July 16.

---End of update---

UPDATE: Monday, August 5, at 1:53 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Despite several reports stating that Bale is on the verge of completing a transfer to Real Madrid, Andre Villas-Boas has again come out and reinstated the club's position that Bale is, in fact, not for sale. The manager was quoted via Sky Sports as saying that:

"

The rumors of an imminent transfer are not true. The only thing we have communicated with Real Madrid is that he is our player and that he is not for sale. 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.

Normally in situations like this it is srutinised by the Football Association with lots of care and attention. We have seen lots of people speak about a player that is not theirs and we are due some respect.

"

---End of update---

UPDATE: Wednesday, July 31, at 11:17 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Amid a slew of reports (see previous slide) that Gareth Bale will indeed be heading to Real Madrid this summer, the news on the star winger staying at Spurs doesn't appear to be all that forthcoming. However, one report from The Sun did state that Tottenham chairman Dan Levy will continue to stand firm on the no-sale of Bale—unless Los Blancos' offer reaches around £125 million.

---End of update---

UPDATE: Monday, July 29, at 1:05 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

The Daily Mirror reports that Tottenham chairman Dan Levy is giving Bale the "cold shoulder" at the moment after Spurs turned down Madrid's incredible £95 million bid. The Wales international is reportedly unhappy with the North London club not even considering the incredible offer amid reports that an agreement was in place from last summer that Bale could leave in the event of bid from Madrid.

The Daily Mail aptly labelled the situation as a "crisis point" for all involved.

---End of update---

UPDATE: Thursday, July 25, at 8:57 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

The Daily Mail report that Tottenham chairman Dan Levy is set to offer Bale an extraordinary £150,000 per week salary (more than Spurs' famous pay ceiling) to keep the winger at the club. However, that salary is still well below the reported £200,000 that Real Madrid are reportedly offering Bale.

Reports from the The London Evening Standard (h/t The Independent) state that Bale will likely reject a move to Real Madrid due to his strong family ties. 

---End of update---

UPDATE: Monday, July 22, at 10:35 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Having repeatedly said this summer that Bale is not for sale and that he won't be leaving White Hart Lane, Spurs are understandably the favorites to have the Wales international in their side next season.

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson was quoted via the Sun saying that he fully expected Bale to remain at the club next season—something that seems more and more likely given that Bale has appeared for the club in the launch of their new strip as well as in preseason friendlies.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas also reiterated his stance via NBC Sports—stating that the star winger would not be for sale "at any price" regardless of the offer.

---End of update---

Latest News on Other Potential Clubs

UPDATE: Monday, August 12, at 8:18 a.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Despite Real Madrid thought to be incredibly close to wrapping up a deal with Gareth Bale last week, Manchester United have again been linked with a fresh move for the Welsh winger. The Independent reports that the Red Devils are heavily considering a move for Bale as talks with Madrid reportedly start to stall, with Javier Hernandez suggested as a potential swap along with £80-100 million in cash. United would likely only make a offer if they did sell star attacker Wayne Rooney this summer.

However, the media outlet do report that such a move will all depend on the headspace of chairman Dan Levy, who has been adamant that Bale will remain at White Hart Lane so far this transfer window.

---End of update---

UPDATE: Thursday, July 25, at 9:07 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

Manchester United are continuing to pick up steam as a potential landing spot this summer with reports emerging that the Premier League champions are set to rival any move by Real Madrid. And, according to The Daily Mail, that could well see United make the first real move for Bale—especially if new manager David Moyes cannot talk Barcelona into selling midfielder Cesc Fabregas this summer.

---End of update---

UPDATE: Monday, July 22, at 10:59 p.m. ET by Dan Talintyre

While Madrid remain the most likely club to land Bale, several other clubs are still popping up in the rumor mill about a potential move for the left winger, such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.

However, the biggest other club linked with a move for Bale is Manchester United, who will reportedly make the Wales international their No. 1 transfer target if they are forced into selling Wayne Rooney.

The Telegraph report that Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas remains David Moyes' top priority this summer, but that the defending Premier League champions could well make an audacious move for Bale if they fail to talk La Blaugrana into selling Fabregas. That report was also backed up by the Express, who confirmed that Bale and Fabregas are the most likely options in any sale of Rooney.

Which, as it turns out, might not be as crazy as it seems.

---End of update---

Hit me up on Twitter for more sports goodness: @dantalintyre