Gareth Bale transfer was the one that got away

Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale was linked to a move to Manchester United when at Southampton in 2007

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he was disappointed to miss out on the signing of a young Gareth Bale in 2007. Bale was a teenager at Southampton and Manchester United went in for the Welshman before Tottenham Hotspur. However, the current double winning player of the year never got the chance to speak to United according to Ferguson. Instead the youngster moved to White Hart Lane and was deployed as a left back for the early part of his career.

Its strange to think that Bale was considered a liability a couple of season ago from a defensive view point, but Harry Redknapp moved him further up and the pitch and he has since developed into one of the best players in Europe. Zinedine Zidane is a favourite, so what did happen in 2007 that saw the former Southampton man move to Spurs instead of United?

Sir Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying:

“We were disappointed in Southampton at the time because we were first there, but they never came back to us.It was not the boy who turned us down, it was Southampton, then a few weeks later he signed for Tottenham Hotspur. He (Bale) was a left-back when we tried to sign him. It wasn’t until Harry (Redknapp) went to Tottenham that he converted him into a wide left player. He reminds me a bit of when we signed Lee Sharpe. He was a six foot, gangly, slim boy, but all of a sudden. he was built like a light heavyweight boxer. Bale is the same in the way he has developed in the last two years physically. He has matured very well.”

Gareth Bale was recently award both the FWA and PFA player of the year awards, ahead of Manchester United’s Robin van Persie. Bale is a worthy winner, but we put together a blog, before the winner was announced, on why Robin van Persie should pick up the award. Let us know what you think and also if, Tottenham fans, you think he’ll be off to Madrid in the summer?

We’ve collected some of the best odds ahead of the Swansea City match on Sunday for you:

  • United take on Swansea in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final home game in charge and are a top priced 1.33 with Coral and Ladbrokes to give him a winning send-off after a magnificent 26 years at the club which has resulted in 38 trophies and seen him become the most successful manager in British football history.
  • United to win to nil also makes plenty of appeal at 2.25 with Betfred, and in the correct score market why don’t you split stakes on a 4-0 or 5-0 success. Those scorelines can be backed at a best of 15 and 29 respectively with Betfred.
  • The Dutchman looks well worth a wager at the 4 on offer with bet365 to score first and can also be backed at 1.62 with Boylesports to net anytime.

2 Comments on Gareth Bale transfer was the one that got away

  1. Alex, sticking his big nose in it again. He’s trying to upset Spurs and also Bale. He thinks he has the right to whoever he wants. Sorry Alex but ye are not good enough for Mr Bale.

  2. We are hell bent on making sure only Real, Barca, Bayern, Man Utd, Man City and Chelsea can have the best players and win trophies

    Just ask Carrick, Berbatov, Modric, Ferdinand, Lampard, Fabregas, Rooney, Yaya and Kolo Toure, Adebayor, Lescott, Silva, Aguero, Balotelli, and our latest attempt Bale

    (We left out Ronaldo only because he was playing for one of Man U/Man C/Chelsea)

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