Retired Gareth Bale was a guest on the Stick to Football show hosted by Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Roy Keane, where he spoke about his move to Real Madrid and turning down Manchester United.
Neville: How much did Tottenham pay for you back then?
Bale: Around £10 million.
Neville: Did they include a sell-on clause for you? How much did you join Real Madrid for?
Bale: No sell-on clause. The transfer fee was £86 million (around €101 million), or £87 million.
Neville: When you realised you were good enough to join Real Madrid, which other clubs made offers?
Bale: Real Madrid and Manchester United were the two main ones.
Neville: So you held talks with Manchester United as well?
Bale: Yes, Manchester United’s offer was higher.
Neville: Ed Woodward (then Manchester United CEO) even announced that they were going to sign you and Cesc Fàbregas.
Bale: I knew they clearly weren’t going to sign those players, so I was thinking: who exactly are you trying to sign?
Neville: Who did you negotiate with at Manchester United? Did you speak to Woodward?
Bale: No, I spoke to David Moyes. My agent might have negotiated with him (Woodward), but I dealt with Moyes. But my heart was set on Real Madrid. I also spoke to Daniel Levy – it was kind of a gentleman’s agreement, because he didn’t want to sell me to a rival to strengthen them. He preferred me to go to Spain, Italy, Germany or anywhere else. We agreed I could leave if the club didn’t qualify for the Champions League, though he was as tough as ever in the negotiations (laughs).
Neville: Financially, was the salary Manchester United offered similar to Real Madrid’s?
Bale: We didn’t get as far as discussing wages with Manchester United. They put in a higher transfer bid, but I believe I made the right choice. I was already determined. After talking to Real Madrid, they reserved the number 11 shirt for me. I spoke to a lot of people at the club – I knew Luka Modrić, who had joined Real Madrid the year before. That obviously helped, as I knew I’d have someone with me when I joined a new team.