FORMER Southampton manager George Burley has revealed that the Saints once knocked back a £3million Manchester United bid for Gareth Bale… as they’d just received £12m from Arsenal for Theo Walcott.
The Red Devils wanted to sign teenage prodigy Bale back in the 2006-07 season, and chief executive David Gill and manager Sir Alex Ferguson even met with Saints officials and Burley to try and thrash out a deal.
Bale had caught Man Utd’s eye as a youngster at SouthamptonCredit: Action Images
He want on to score in multiple Champions League finals for Real MadridCredit: Reuters
But because of the then-left-back’s “defensive weaknesses”, they opted against offering any more than £3m for the rising star.
Burley told The Athletic: “He was like a winger playing at full-back, Manchester United were interested in him. I remember going to a hotel and speaking to Sir Alex and his chief executive.
“We’d already sold Theo Walcott for £12million [to Arsenal] and they offered three or four million so we said ‘no way’.
“I think they were a little bit worried about his defensive side of the game, which we were working at, but he could handle that.”
Bale instead signed for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2007, joining the Lilywhites for an initial £5m, rising to £10m with add-ons.
Life at White Hart Lane got off to an inauspicious start, as the skinny full-back initially struggle to replicate the ability shown in training onto the big stage on a Saturday.
In fact, he even famously suffered the ignominy of failing to win in any of his first 24 Premier League appearances for Spurs.
This changed when Harry Redknapp started fielding him further forward, and the Welshman quickly became one of the most exciting players in the division.
Bale gradually rose to stardom at SpursCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Things improved further still under Andre Villas-Boas, with Bale scoring 26 goals in his final season in English football before an £86m transfer to Real Madrid.
Now 30, Bale has enjoyed a glittering career at the Bernabeu including four Champions League successes and a LaLiga title triumph.
His time in Madrid appears to have fizzled out, however, having been a bit-part player this season following a failed lucrative move to Jiangsu Suning last summer.
Gareth Bale shows his footie skills with a golf ball as he stays in to avoid coronavirus
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
