How is it that a chairman sells the club’s best player and still comes out looking like a hero?
Simply, because he is a shrewd dealer who has everything figured since months ago.
Gareth Bale was the club’s top scorer with 21 goals in the league and almost single-handedly, dragged Tottenham into a lucrative Champions League position with a number of, often stunning, winning goals towards the end of the season.
Bale was recognised as the standout player in the league, sweeping the board at the end of season awards, winning the PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards, besides the prestigious Football Writer’s Player of the Year award.
With the form and recognition came interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe, and eventually, Real Madrid. With Tottenham having missed out on Europe’s elite competition for the second year running, bids to sign Bale were inevitable.
This is where the smartest man in Football, Daniel Levy, comes in.
Often considered as a hard negotiator, having sold previous star players like Luka Modric and Dimitar Berbatov at a premium, this summer has been nothing more than about saving face.
Although contracted to Tottenham for another three years, Bale wants out and with the price on his head at all-time high, all roads lead out of the door for the man from Cardiff.
This time, however, the stakes have been raised because of just how important Bale has been to Tottenham over the last couple of years.
Levy has spent well and has got the fans excited with a number of eye-catching signings. Paulinho starred in the Confederations Cup for Brazil, Roberto Soldado has consistently scored goals for one of the world’s elite clubs in Valencia, Nacer Chadli has a wonderful goal-scoring record for a winger and Etienne Capoue is a young but technically astute player who should fit well to the Spurs system.
With the fans’ attention diverted to these new players, as well as the excitement surrounding the possible additions of Willian from Anzhi and Erik Lamela, the prodigious young talent from Roma, nobody has any time to dwell on losing the club’s best player.
Although a lot of credit has to go to Franco Baldini, Tottenham’s new Technical Director and possibly most astute signing of recent times, it is Levy who has overseen the entire summer operation.
Bale will depart with nothing but the fans blessing, while taking up the challenge of playing for the world’s biggest club. Southampton may have discovered Bale but it was Tottenham who created the modern day superstar and they will always see him as one of their own.
It is likely that a deal was struck with Real Madrid weeks ago, Levy simply wanted the time to make a few signings, appease the fans and then move forward.
Levy would not have spent the amount of money he has, and still plans to, without a significant lump sum already coming in the other way.
If a deal hadn’t already been struck, then Real Madrid would sense that Tottenham were eager to sell to cover their costs, thus, driving down the price of the player; Levy is not stupid.
The final cost for Bale is yet to be seen, however, one would be surprised if it is the $160 million being reported. If the deal also includes Fabio Coentrao, who up until a couple of years ago was arguably a better prospect than Bale, then this feat will be only down to one man.
A final thought to throw into the whole affair is the ‘partnership’ that Real Madrid and Tottenham signed last year, a deal which Levy most likely instigated and was integral in all its finer details.
While little is known about the specifics of the deal, it would come as zero surprise if Bale plus a player swap was mooted as long ago as last summer.
Don’t be too surprised if the top performing Tottenham players in the upcoming campaign are seen in a Real Madrid shirt next season, sold at a ‘Levy’ premium.
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