Premier League English

Daniel Levy to pay 100% of Gareth Bale’s salary?

According to Spanish news outlet AS, Tottenham could be facing a potential stumbling block should they want to keep Gareth Bale on an extended loan as Real Madrid are allegedly eager for Spurs to pay the entirety of his lofty wages, which could be quite a poser to a certain Mr Daniel Levy.

Bale, apparently fast making his way back to full fitness as latest reports have emerged after re-signing for the club in a sensational summer deal, could still impress manager Jose Mourinho enough to warrant the club taking him back on a permanent deal or, at the very least, extending his current loan.

The integration of the Wales international into the team by Mourinho has been slow but sure integrated as Bales aims to recapture his best years in north London – making the odd cameo appearance before starting a decent amount of matches in recent weeks.

Having scored the winner at home to Brighton in a narrow 2-1 victory, he served sufficient notice on how deadly he could be for Spurs over this season. However, if Tottenham wish to keep him on loan for a longer duration than the agreed one year stipulation, it is reported by AS that he will likely have to fork out the full portion of his lofty 600,000 quid per week wage before tax.

That’s quite a massive bite on the butt for the Tottenham chairman.

This would make him the highest paid player in the Spurs squad by some way, with superstar striker Harry Kane currently on a third of that amount despite his own importance.

There could be a way round for the club if Levy were to negotiate a pay cut in any would-be permanent deal, but it’s unclear whether Bale would agree to those terms.

In any instance, a loan extension could mean that the club will have a huge drain on wage funds, something that may be a blow to Tottenham if they want to prolong Bale’s stay.