Rafael van der Vaart Reveals He Hopes Gareth Bale Returns to Tottenham Amid Real Madrid Unrest
Former Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart has revealed he hopes Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale will one day return to Spurs.
The Welshman has been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu following the re-appointment of Zinedine Zidane as manager.
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Bale has been at Real Madrid since he signed from Spurs in the summer of 2013. Since joining for then a world record fee of £85.3m, Bale has grown into one of the world’s best players with 102 goals in 224 appearances and four Champions League titles with Los Blancos.
Speaking to to the Evening Standard, Van der Vaart admitted he would like to see his former Spurs teammate eventually head back to Tottenham should he one day leave Real Madrid.
He said: "I know him as a person and, with a Spurs hat, I always hope he’ll say, ‘Okay, I’ll come back’. I don’t think it’s going to happen, but that would be a nice story."
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Bale's future seems to lie at Real Madrid but that could be thrown into doubt should the Spanish giants bring in an attacker in the summer, with Christian Eriksen one of many players linked with a Bernabeu switch.
Since Bale joined Madrid he has received criticism from the small majority of the demanding Bernabeu faithful and could see his time at the club come to an end this summer, though it has been questioned if Tottenham if be able to afford the Wales internationals wages.
