Bale must put foreign ambitions on hold to mould his career at Spurs

At the age of 23, Gareth Bale is already on the meteoric rise of being talked about in the same breath as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi (admittedly by his own manager) but the Welsh wizard must ensure his development continues at Tottenham rather than a hasty move abroad.

Bale must put his foreign ambitions on hold to mould his career at Spurs if he wants to be held in the same breath as Messi and Ronaldo.

After another weekend where Bale was the primary focus post his side’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle at White Hart Lane, his manager Andre Villas-Boas suggested it would be a disaster akin to Ronaldo and Messi leaving their clubs if Bale left the north-London side in the summer.

Real Madrid are reportedly monitoring the situation ahead of preparing a bid of around £40m, and are hoping to pounce on the player’s publicly stated desire of wanting to play abroad. They’ll be coming up against a tough negotiator in Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, who successfully got the price he wanted the previous summer when he allowed Croatian Luka Modric to leave for the Santiago Bernabeu.

As exciting as it would be for Bale to have one of Europe’s most historic clubs to want him in their team, a footballing neutral would hope that logic will over-ride any overture from Spain to develop his career in England before leaving the nest for La Liga.

At this point in his career, Bale has everything at his disposal to fully flesh out his game. He is at a well-run club, playing in a squad that is in a very strong position to obtain a Champions League spot, working with a young manager who seems to have, so far, consigned his short tenure at Chelsea to the dustbin and recently became a father, to bring a clarity and calmness to what can be a hectic private life for a professional footballer.

If he joins Madrid in the summer, he’ll have to compete for a place in a team which is designed perfectly for Ronaldo to succeed. Bale’s apparent interest in joining Madrid would be ideal in the future, but not now. Not if he will be happy to play a supporting role to Ronaldo, who since leaving Manchester United in 2009, has taken his game to levels that only the Welshman can aspire to.

He’ll also need to jostle for position on the wing with Angel Di Maria; if he wants to play in a more central role, then the impressive Mesut Ozil stands in his way. And the future of their coach, Jose Mourinho, seems to hinge on whether he can guide them to a tenth European Cup, which if he doesn’t, could mean he meets Bale at the airport as the charismatic Portuguese exits and the dynamic Welshman enters.

Barcelona, whilst under the leadership of Pep Guardiola, were keeping tabs on Bale, but that link has diminished rather quickly. As long as Lionel Messi is at the Camp Nou and the team is built for his success, Bale again will have to accept a supporting role rather than a prime one that he could have.

Like any other professional nearing the top of his potential, ambitions always surge in an individuals mind; winning trophies; playing in the biggest games in club football; tackling some of the world’s best players, all come to the fore and it’s only inevitable. Bale was the stand-out performer for his side when Harry Redknapp coached his side to the Champions League knock-out phase in 2011, when they were beaten by Jose Mourinho’s Madrid over two legs. That taste of European action must have whetted Bale’s appetite for more, but sadly, he hasn’t played in that competition since.

If things go according to plan, next season he will be able to, providing Spurs maintain their good form and seal fourth place. His coach’s desire seems to be solidifying themselves within the top four of the Premier League, but also launching a credible challenge for the title itself, reviving memories of February 2012 when Redknapp’s side flirted with taking on the Manchester clubs in the title race, before eventually fizzling out and ending up in fourth place.

Bale’s likeness to the Portuguese number seven at Madrid is not only based on their style of play on the field, but also in making decisions in their careers that sees them take the next step up the ladder that involves, most crucially, the timing of it.

Whilst at Manchester United, Ronaldo had never hidden his love for Madrid and the opportunity to wear the white shirt that the great Alfredo Di Stefano had adorned. He stated his desire to move there as far back as 2006, when the UK press had declared him the scapegoat for England’s exit at the World Cup at the hands of Portugal. But that following season, he guided United to their first Premier League title in three years, subsequently also winning their first European Cup since 1999 after beating Chelsea in Moscow in 2008.

Bale’s desire to celebrate goals abroad is no secret.

The Portuguese, admittedly, was ready to go then, having accomplished everything he wanted to in England. But his wily old manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was able to coax another year out of him, resulting in their 17th Premier League and reaching their second successive Champions League final in Rome, where they were beaten by Guardiola’s Barcelona.

It’s a template that Bale might be worth heeding to. He might want to look at his former team-mate Modric, who recently was voted the worst signing of the previous summer alongside Barcelona’s Alex Song. Bale and Modric are two completely different players, but the message underneath is the old cliché, of the grass not being as green on the other side.

Bale’s comparisons to Ronaldo are not completely far fetched; there are clear similarities, but if he wants to have the same amount of personal success that the 28-year-old has had, then he must carefully plan his way to the top rather than make an ill-judged move that could set him back.