Can Tottenham Hotspur Afford to Sell Gareth Bale?

It didn't seem right that this transfer window would draw to a conclusion without the world transfer record coming under threat.

In a window where £50 million has taken its place as the new £30 million and money is being splashed around by billionaire owners like there's no tomorrow, it was seemingly inevitable that a combination of the transfer-happy Florentino Perez in the red corner and the toughest negotiator in world football, Daniel Levy, in the blue corner would lead to the possibility of the most expensive signing in the history of the game.

Where Gareth Bale would fit in at Real Madrid is a conversation for another day, as it all depends on whether or not he ends up signing for them. It seems foolish to speculate on this too prematurely.

Whether he is worth a world record bid of £85 million also seems a relatively fruitless discussion. Is he as good a player now as Cristiano Ronaldo was when he cost Real Madrid £80 million in 2009? Absolutely not. But four years is a long time in football, and the market has moved on dramatically since then.

To say that Gareth Bale is not worth £85 million now because Ronaldo was only worth £80 million then is like saying that it was ridiculous for Real Madrid to pay £80 million for Ronaldo because Diego Maradona only cost Napoli £6.9 million in 1984 (admittedly an extremely exaggerated example but I'm sure you see my point). 

Every transfer is unique to the situation, so you can only vaguely compare them. But in a transfer window where the dangerously overrated Hulk has cost £52 million and Arsene Wenger has attempted to sign a player for (just) over £40 million, £85 million for Gareth Bale seems relatively sensible in comparison.

Where does it leave Spurs?

This quite incredible bid for Real Madrid has now left Andre Villas-Boas, Daniel Levy and Tottenham Hotspur as a club in quite a conundrum. AVB has been adamant for a while now that Bale will not be leaving Spurs this summer, and he will now look a bit daft if he gets undermined by his chairman and Bale is sold.

If Daniel Levy sells Bale, he will have £85 million to reinvest into new players to satisfy the Spurs faithful. His record in replacing quality with quality is somewhat mixed, but he does have the reputation for investing every penny of transfer sales back into playing talent. Spurs fans shouldn't be worried that the £85 million will get swallowed up in the accounting department.

No player is bigger than their club, but at the moment Gareth Bale is about as close as it gets. Whilst Spurs are not a one-man team, they are a team with one very good man. With £85 million they will be able to sign three or four very good players, but they will not be able to sign one player anywhere near as good as Gareth Bale. 

It will also officially solidify their reputation as a selling club. Selling clubs do not make it to the top. Fact.

Selling Bale would be a fantastic financial boost for Spurs, but it would be a massive blow in terms of trying to get back into the Champions League and pushing on even further. 

Any player Spurs may sign in the future will go there in the knowledge that after one or two excellent seasons they will be able to secure their move to a Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Manchester United if the right amount of money comes along. 

Daniel Levy need only look a few miles across North London at Arsenal to see how hard it is down the line for selling clubs to throw themselves back into the market and establish themselves back up at the highest level as an A-list destination. 

It is worth remembering that Spurs do not have to sell. Bale signed a new contract only last year and is committed to the club for at least another three years. There is no looming possibility of losing him on a free transfer in a year's time, and Bale does seem like the kind of bloke who will still give his all if he stays at Spurs for another season (at least I'd like to think so). 

With so much chopping and changing amongst the top three of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea, and with Arsenal struggling to acquire the players that they covet so badly, this season has the feeling of genuine opportunity for Tottenham Hotspur to push on into the Top Four and maybe beyond. 

They obviously need a new striker, but it seems as though that will happen regardless of whether Bale stays or goes, with Sam Cunningham of the Daily Mail reporting that the arrival of Spanish striker Roberto Soldado is imminent. But the general feeling is, a Tottenham Hotspur side with Gareth Bale in it next season has a far greater chance of success than a Tottenham Hotspur side without him, whoever they sign.

As a massive fan of the Premier League, it will be a huge shame to lose yet another one of our marquee talents to a European league. For Tottenham, he is their talisman. If he goes to Real Madrid, Spurs will gain £85 million, but Daniel Levy will be establishing Spurs' destiny as a selling club with only a future of Europa League football on the horizon.