Outlandish Spanish Report Claims Gareth Bale 'Has Agreed to Return to Spurs' After Real Madrid Exile

Gareth Bale has agreed to a sensational return to Tottenham ahead of this summer’s transfer window, according to well-known Spanish rumour creators Don Balon.

It is said that Bale realises his time at Real Madrid is just about up and would be keen to link up once again with his former club in north London, five years after leaving the club. The deal is said to still have some way to go yet, with Madrid still having to sanction any sale of a player they splashed a once-world record £86m to sign.

Real are apparently keen to see major target and Spurs star Harry Kane included in any deal for Bale, though Spurs are of the belief that Bale’s value has dropped during his time at the Bernabeu and would expect to receive a package worth arounf £155m for their star striker.

Bale has fallen largely out of favour under Zinedine Zidane this season, having once again started on the bench against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema preferred to the Welshman in attack.

Bale may stop short of earning a reputation as a true Madrid great in the company of Ronaldo, Zidane and co, but will feel that, having won three Champions League titles and one La Liga crown during his spell in the Spanish capital, the move was a success.

However, Bale is likely to continue to miss out on a starting berth in Madrid’s Champions League final showdown with Liverpool this month, and that could be the final prompt for the forward to finally decide it is time to move on.

A return to England has long been touted during his time in Madrid, with Manchester United among those regularly linked with a move for Bale, although the January acquisition of Alexis Sanchez at Old Trafford makes Bale an unlikely target for Jose Mourinho this summer.

Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, however, was seemingly keen to open the door for Bale’s return to the club earlier this season.

“Of course he’s a fantastic player”, Pochettino admitted. “He keeps contact with all the people here that worked here in the past.”

All the pieces are seemingly in place for what would be a spectacular transfer this summer. Perhaps the biggest barrier to clear in Bale’s return to Spurs would be the prospect of negotiations between Madrid president, Florentino Perez and Daniel Levy, Spurs’ chairman.

Two of Europe’s most notoriously tough negotiators, the thrashing out of another deal between the two for Bale could be just as much of a blockbuster as the transfer itself.