Gareth Bale to Tottenham Hotspur rumors: ‘First option’ will not help Spurs sign him

Between the emergence of Marco Asensio and the impetus to beat Barcelona to teenage sensation Kylian Mbappe, rumors have started circulating that Real Madrid is willing to sell Gareth Bale for the right price. And yesterday, everyone’s favorite anonymous and well-connected former footballer endeared himself to Tottenham Hotspur fans Monday with this tweet.

Sounds like a great fairy tale story. Bale goes to Real Madrid, plays a key part in helping the club win every trophy it can win, then decides to come home. Tottenham, having become a stronger club in his absence, is now in Champions League and preparing to open a new stadium. So Spurs, exercising their first option right, buy him back from Los Merengues. The Welsh wizard leads Tottenham to a Premier League title.

That was fun to fantasize about, wasn’t it? Sorry, it won’t be happening.

A first option means that, in the event Real Madrid agrees to sell Bale to another club, they have to inform Spurs. If Spurs match that bid exactly, Madrid will have to accept it, and they are also free to negotiate with Bale.

But that’s the easy part. The hard part is convincing Bale to sign. And just because Tottenham has had a bid accepted by Madrid doesn’t mean he has to negotiate with the club. If he tells Spurs he’s not interested in the move, their first option doesn’t help them.

That seems likely, since Bale’s current wages of £350,000 after tax are more than double that of Spurs’ highest earners. While Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy might be willing to break his wage structure to re-sign Bale, there’s not a chance he can match Bale’s Real Madrid wage. Clubs like Manchester United and Manchester City, however, can probably afford it.

The only way for Spurs to sign Bale is for him to want the move so badly that he takes a massive paycut and tells other teams offering him more money that he’s not interested. The first option is irrelevant.

At no point has Madrid chairman Florentino Perez considered getting rid of Bale. Despite frequent reports that Bale might not be in Zidane’s plans, Perez has backed him unwaveringly.

“I’m not contemplating selling Bale,” Perez said recently, for the hundredth time. “He’s a player of Real Madrid, he’s important for us and he’s one of the best players in the world.”

James Rodriguez has already exited, freeing up minutes for other players. Cristiano Ronaldo is 32 and slowly declining, while Karim Benzema is one year older than Bale and coming off his weakest season in six years. Madrid wants to keep Bale around in case those players fall off sharply.

Even with the exorbitant future investment the club made in 16-year-old Vinicius Junior — a player who won’t join the club for at least two seasons, and won’t be a significant contributor until three or four years down the line — Madrid still has a net spend of plus-€27 million this summer. Perez does not need to sell anyone in order to buy another superstar.

Bale to the Premier League rumors make very little sense. And Bale to Tottenham rumors make zero sense.