Ferguson regrets missing out on Gareth Bale

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Manchester United were on the brink of signing Gareth Bale as a youngster from Southampton. The Scotsman revealed that his club tried to sign the winger in January 2007 but was beaten to it by Tottenham Hotspurs.

Bale, who started his career as a left-back, has gradually developed into a goal scorer at the White Hart Lane and became the first player in eighteen years for Tottenham to score 20 goals in a single season. The Welshman was also recently awarded PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards as well as the Football Writers’ award. Speaking to The Telegraph, Ferguson said:

“We were disappointed in Southampton at the time because we were first there, but they never came back to us.

“It was not the boy who turned us down, it was Southampton, then a few weeks later he signed for Tottenham Hotspur.”

Compared to Cristiano Ronaldo more often than not this season, Bale has been linked with a move to Real Madrid who are said to be preparing a massive bid to sign the 23-year-old in the summer. And Ferguson acknowledges the way Bale has grown in the last two seasons. He added:

“He (Bale) was a left-back when we tried to sign him. It wasn’t until Harry (Redknapp) went to Tottenham that he converted him into a wide left player.

“He reminds me a bit of when we signed Lee Sharpe. He was a six foot, gangly, slim boy, but all of a sudden. He was built like a light heavyweight boxer.

“Bale is the same in the way he has developed in the last two years physically. He has matured very well.”