Many have dreamed of a Real Madrid duo of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to match Barcelona's tandem of Lionel Messi and Neymar. However, that dream was called into question by former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon.
The former Blancos executive claims that Spanish giants have upped their interest in the Tottenham Hotspur superstar out of fear for the departure of Ronaldo.
"I think the president has put all he has on the table [for Bale] just in case he cannot get the renewal of Cristiano," Calderon said. "He is afraid that, at some moment, Cristiano will go and that would be very bad news for Real Madrid."
"Now I understand he is asking for €20 million net every season," said Calderon of Ronaldo. "That is going to be difficult for Real Madrid to accept because it is around €40 million every year for the club to pay and that is the situation now."
Ronaldo had been linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this year, but speculation has cooled down. However, Madrid has offered up to 100 million pounds for Bale.
"At first, the Spurs president was angry because you don't want to lose a player like that, but when Bale says he wants to leave, you have to accept it," he noted. "I think this is very good news for Real Madrid, but I think it is good for Tottenham too because they will get a lot of money. [Bale] is a fantastic player, and of course the top players are worth a lot to their clubs."
He concluded by asserting that the move would happen for Bale.
"This is a huge amount of money and it is always controversial in these days to pay that amount of money. I agreed with the fee for Cristiano at the time and it seems the Real president feels it is right to pay this money for Gareth Bale. I think [Bale move] will happen now," he said. "They have made many offers - they change the offers, try to offer different players."
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