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Gareth Bale will leave Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of this season, and as always, his future has been the source of much speculation.
The 32-year-old will wait for Wales to play their World Cup qualifying play-off match on June 5 before making a decision. Whether he leads his country to the World Cup for the first time since 1958 or not, Bale will have plenty to offer.
He has been linked with a return to Tottenham as well as a move to Major League Soccer in the United States, while rumors persist that he might consider retiring if Wales fail to qualify for the World Cup.
Then there is talk of a move to Cardiff City, which is not going to go away.
Gareth Bale will have to cut his salary drastically to join Cardiff, who plays in the English Championship. His salary at Real Madrid is worth £600,000 a week, more than the weekly wage bill for the entire Cardiff team.
However, Bell was born and raised in Cardiff, his family still lives there, and whenever he gets the chance to go home, he does.
Playing for Wales is his absolute priority. He works closely with the fitness and medical staff of his country’s Football Association, who share a training base with Cardiff City FC in the Valley of Glamorgan.
Then there is the theory that if Wales qualify for the World Cup, Bale may be able to be more selective in the matches he plays for Cardiff – unlike Tottenham or another top-flight team – in preparation for the World Cup in November in Qatar.
“It’s a milestone,” says Robert Page. In the end, it’s Gareth’s decision and Cardiff City’s decision. I think he’s right in saying: “Let’s focus completely on the fifth” [June, World Cup qualifying match with Wales]. Let’s get there first and have this discussion.”
He added: “We can keep talking about it and guessing and giving our opinion on it, which makes sense. It is very logical. He can make for himself a training base that he knows. In the end, let’s see what happens on June 5th and maybe I’ll be the first to ask the question after the match.”
Some might scoff at the idea that the four-time Champions League winner is preparing for the World Cup by relegating to the Championship to play for a team that finished 18th in the table this season.
If Wales succeed in their bid to qualify for the World Cup, Page will be open to the idea.
The former Wales centre-back adds: “If he was playing for Cardiff and we qualified for the World Cup, I wouldn’t change my thoughts or my respect for Gareth at all. He will definitely be part of the World Cup squad anyway. As long as he plays football – that is the most important thing for us.”
Wherever Bale ends up, he is sure to appear more prominently than he did with Real Madrid this season.
“When he showed up in March, he wasn’t playing but he had four, five, six weeks of training under his belt, so he had that stamina inside of him to give himself the best chance,” Page says.
“There is no such thing as playing games. He wouldn’t be strong but he was still able to take a free kick in the top corner and score two goals in a big game for us. He will definitely need to be part of a club and train, even if he is not playing, at this pace with other players every day.”
Paige, his Wales staff and most of his supporters won’t mind where Bale goes this summer. The only option they definitely don’t want him to make is retirement.
“I don’t want him to do that,” Page says. The door is always open, for what he does in the changing room too. I’m lucky – I see how he is with the players. I always tell this story about [Huddersfield and Wales winger] Sorba Thomas when I first brought him in. The only other time he saw Gareth Bale was playing FIFA on Xbox.”
Paige ended his comments by saying, “I want him to last as long as possible because he’s his influence in the locker room too.”
Source: BBC
