Having largely fallen out of favour at Spanish giants Real Madrid and with some harsh criticisms going his way from their passionate supporter base, Welsh international footballer Gareth Bale spent the 2020/21 campaign back at former club Tottenham Hotspur and the 32-year-old Welsh wizard seamlessly slotted back into the rigors of the Premier League.
Although his game time was somewhat limited with injuries hitting, he made a total of 19 starting appearances for them, with 15 further showings from the substitutes bench, returning a total of 17 goals. With renewed confidence he returned to Santiago Bernabeu to see out his final year of his contract, making only seven appearances in the 2021/22 season.
With Bale’s contract now at an end, plenty had wondered what his future would now hold and there had been talk of another return to White Hart Lane or even an MLS adventure following his largely successful nine-year spell in Spain.
There is another curious suitor on the cards though, and regardless of how implausible or improbable it would seem that after his stellar career Bale would choose English Championship side Cardiff City to take him closer to retirement, on Monday it was being reported that Bluebirds chairman Mehmet Dalman had already flown back to the United Kingdom to lead negotiations with Bale and his team of representatives.
Available as a free transfer with him now being a free agent, Cardiff is an intriguing prospect for the five time Champions League winner. He would undoubtedly be the undisputed star in their starting XI and he would figure massively in their push for Championship promotion back to the Premier League and he was of course, born in Cardiff, although he never actually played club football in Wales having come through Southampton’s youth set up.
A big driver potentially boosting Cardiff’s hopes in making this startling capture is the simple fact that it is well known that Bale’s main desire now is to lead Wales into their first World Cup in 64 years – something that everyone knows will now happen following last weekend’s successful Path B qualification Play Off victory over Ukraine – and it was somewhat fitting that it was Bale’s own deflected free kick at the Cardiff City Stadium that proved to be enough to separate the sides at the full time whistle.
For those who like a flutter, not only will the World Cup out in Qatar offer significantly good odds on just how Bale and Wales themselves will perform, should Cardiff pull off this dramatic capture, it would certainly put them in the mix for being favourites to end the season with the second tier title given Bale’s exploits in front of goal. This guide to the best World Cup free bet deals apparently can help during November 2022 football betting bonanza.
With significant financial hurdles still to overcome if there is to be any hope of this deal actually coming to fruition, neither Cardiff City nor Bale will yet comment on the reports but with the player knowing he now has to prepare properly for the coming tournament, this is certainly a piece of news that is worth watching as the new season approaches, as Welsh boss Rob Page knows he needs his star man fit and playing regularly if he is to have the impact on the pitch that everyone knows he is capable of.
“He understands what he needs to do. Gareth’s problems in the past have been when he’s not playing week in, week out. There was the Belarus game when he was undercooked coming into camp and ended up getting a little tweak in his calf, so he understands he needs to play. That will be his plan. I’m not lying when I say I haven’t got a clue what he’s doing. I haven’t had that conversation yet. I will do, but I haven’t up until now. It’s up to him and his family to decide what’s best for him to get him in the right frame of mind for November. It’s going to be as simple as that. It might even be as short term as that. He’s worked ever so hard throughout his career. He’s the ultimate professional and he’s earned the right to lead our country at a World Cup. Whatever he does from now until then is really important for him to get himself in the very best physical condition.”
Cardiff City fans could be set for an interesting summer.
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