Mega-rich Ligue 1 pair primed to break post-Bale transfer record

With a Welshman close to becoming the world’s most expensive footballer, these are indeed remarkable times in the game.

Gareth Bale’s move from Tottenham to Real Madrid now looks certain to be completed in the coming days, with the final fee for the winger’s services looking likely to smash the world record of £80m set when Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Real from Manchester United in 2009.

Just how Bale will fare as the costliest player on the planet remains to be seen, but when the record comes to be broken again he could find that his soon-to-be teammate is back at the front of the queue.

The prospect of Bale playing with Ronaldo is one that is sure to get football fans all over the world licking their lips, but there remains a doubt over the long-term future of the Portuguese at the Bernabeu considering that he is yet to agree a new contract at the club.

And it is that uncertainty which could see Ronaldo once again become the world’s most expensive player, with France’s Ligue 1 his potential destination perhaps as early as next summer.

A 11/4, Ladbrokes make Paris Saint-Germain the team most likely to break the post-Bale world transfer record, with Ronaldo a probable target for a price which could top £100m.

Moneyed rivals Monaco – who have splashed the cash on Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho this summer in a bid to establish themselves as a European force – would also be likely to enter the Ronaldo race, and are priced at 4/1 to set the new record.

Should Ronaldo not be the player who moves, Real are 10/3 to break the record again, something that the purchase of Bale would ensure they’ve done five times in a row.

But with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi the only other player likely to command such a fee, a Real deal for the gifted Argentinean would show that the football world really has gone mad.

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