Ladbrokes’ big price on record-breaking Bale move a huge risk

With his status as one of the leading talents in world football now secured, it seems only a matter of time before Gareth Bale leaves Tottenham behind for a club consistently challenging for domestic and European silverware alike.

And with Real Madrid utterly desperate to take the electric Welshman to Spain, Ladbrokes are taking a big risk in offering 3/1 odds that the 24-year-old moves for over £80m without the inclusion of any other player.

Real have already had an £81m bid for the winger rejected, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, a notoriously tough negotiator, adamant that the player is not for sale.

However, Bale is understood to be furious at the rejection of the bid, and is keen to link up with Cristiano Ronaldo (currently the world’s most expensive player at £80m) and co. at Santiago Bernabeu.

Los Blancos haven’t given up their pursuit either, and new boss Carlo Ancelotti has been given the green light to make a renewed £85m bid for the former Southampton trainee, who notched 26 times in all competitions last term.

Lured by the prospect of Champions League football and the opportunity to turn out for one of the world’s most famous clubs, Bale is ready to snub an astronomical £170,000-per-week White Hart Lane contract in an attempt to force a move away from his current club.

Tottenham chief Andre Villas-Boas has all the while kept hush on the subject, refusing to answer any questions regarding the future of his prize asset following his side’s 6-0 pre-season defeat of South China recently.

But that match represented the third in a row in which Bale failed to feature, and though he is believed to be suffering from a minor glute muscle problem, many believe the PFA Player of the Year is far from being in the right frame of mind to play.

With both the player’s and Real Madrid’s intentions wholly apparent, 3/1 looks a huge price that Bale is the subject of a world-record transfer this summer, and it makes far more sense to take advantage of that price rather than the 5/4 that he joins Real, whilst the 8/15 that he remains with Spurs beyond September 1 should be avoided.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.