Gareth Bale has opened up about his decision to reject Manchester United at the start of his career, opting instead to join Tottenham Hotspur. The Welsh icon faced a similar choice to recent United target Mateus Fernandes, who completed an £85million move to Spurs.
Bale's Early Career Choice
Bale proved to be a signing that eluded United on multiple occasions, with the club's initial interest dating back to 2007 after his breakthrough season at Southampton. A 17-year-old Bale, then an attacking left-back, ultimately opted to join Spurs despite United attempting to bring him to Old Trafford.
At the time, United had just reclaimed the Premier League title and would go on to win the Champions League the following year. However, Bale resisted the lure of immediate silverware and more money at United, as he prioritised securing regular first-team football.
Bale's Explanation
"I rejected Manchester United and went to Tottenham," Bale recalled in 2023. "At the time, United were the biggest team in the Premier League, winning trophies, with the best players and the best coach."
"The easy decision would have been to go to United, the biggest club in England, when I played for Southampton. You always want to be at the biggest clubs, but I made the decision to play football."
"At that age, many players would look for money and want to go to a bigger club. It was important for my development to keep playing football, that's why I chose Tottenham."
Bale's Tottenham Career and Move to Real Madrid
The move was not an immediate success, as the Wales international was winless in his first 24 games for Spurs, but an injury-forced switch to the left wing later took his game to new heights. After scoring 26 goals in the 2012/13 season, Bale completed a world record move to Real Madrid.
Much to United's frustration, Bale rejected the Reds once again in favour of heading to the Spanish capital. He subsequently spent nine years with Los Blancos, winning five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles.
Second Rejection of United
"United and Madrid were the two teams [who were interested]," Bale explained on the Stick to Football podcast. "I did talk to United, yeah. They actually bid more than Madrid."
He continued: "I spoke with David Moyes. Not [Ed Woodward], maybe my agent did. My heart was set on Madrid."
"I had something in place with Daniel Levy, maybe more of a gentleman's agreement, because he didn't want to sell me to a rival. So if a team did come in from Spain, Italy or wherever, I could potentially go because if we didn't qualify for the Champions League, which we didn't, I was then able to go there."
After leaving Madrid, Bale joined Los Angeles FC ahead of captaining Wales at the 2022 World Cup. Shortly after the tournament, he announced his retirement at age 34.
