With Tottenham out the way, do all roads for Gareth Bale lead to Newcastle?

Posted Monday, May 11, 2020 by Marca.com

Newcastle are the latest Premier League club to be linked with a move for Real Madrid's Gareth Bale in the English media.

The Magpies are subject of a takeover bid from a group of investors including the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and are waiting for the green light from the Premier League before it can be completed.

If the 400 million euro deal goes through, Newcastle will become one of the richest clubs in the Premier League.

Mohamed bin Salman, the main backer of the takeover bid, has riches estimated at eight billion euros himself, while the Public Investment Fund is worth a further 300 billion euros.

As MARCA understand, Bale's name is now being talked about as a priority for the new owners, who would have the money to afford him.

The prospective owners have also earmarked Mauricio Pochettino as their desired new coach and the Argentine would be in favour of a move for Bale.

The keys to the deal

For the first time since Real Madrid signed the Welshman in 2013, Tottenham don't have first refusal on a transfer for Bale.

When the forward signed for Los Blancos, a clause was agreed that would see Spurs given first say over whether they want to re-sign Bale if any other English club made a bid for him.

In the event of a bid from another English club, Tottenham would've had 72 hours to respond to the offer. However, that clause expired on June 30 2019.

Therefore, if Newcastle make a bid to sign Bale this summer, there's nothing Tottenham can do.

Persuasion

Convincing the player to leave Madrid for Newcastle is an obvious hurdle in the transfer.

Despite not having been a regular in the Real Madrid team for the last three years, the Welsh international is perfectly happy in the Spanish capital and wants to see out his contract, which runs until June 2022.

Bale had always rejected the idea of leaving Real Madrid until he received an offer of 25 million euros a year from a Chinese Super League club last summer.

After some consideration over the move to the city of Nankin in the Jiangsu province, Bale decided that he'd rather stay in Madrid.

Wages have often been a problem for any teams trying to sign Bale from Los Blancos, but Newcastle's newfound wealth would mean they could pretty much match the 17 million euro per year salary he earns at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

The coach

Having a reputable coach like Pochettino in the dugout would mean Newcastle would be more able to attract big names.

After all, the former Tottenham boss eluded to a move for Bale during his time in charge of the North London club.

"If we have the first say on his future, why not?" Pochettino said about the potential of bringing Bale back to Tottenham two years ago.

"He's a great player - a player that would improve our squad and the profile that we're looking for."

Real Madrid's viewpoint

Los Blancos wouldn't be against an exit for Bale and they wouldn't ask for a big transfer fee either because getting his wages off the books would save them a lot of money anyway.

The transfer to Jiangsu Suning last summer broke down because Real Madrid didn't want to let the 30-year-old leave for free.

However, in no case is the fee going to be more than 20 million euros - a figure that Newcastle would comfortably be able to pay under their prospective owners.

What about MLS?

Bale hinted that he might be looking for a departure from Real Madrid while speaking highly of MLS recently.

However, no MLS club would be able to pay the wages he earns at Real Madrid - not Inter Miami, not anyone.

The option of moving to the United States would only arise to Bale once his contract at Real Madrid expires, leaving Newcastle with very little competition this summer.

So, if a good offer comes in from St James' Park, it would be difficult to say no.