A former Tottenham Hotspur player recalled his reasons for rejecting Manchester United
Gareth Bale previously revealed he snubbed Manchester United in favour of joining Tottenham Hotspur at the start of his career. The Welsh legend faced a similar decision to recent United target Mateus Fernandes, who has now completed an £85million switch to Spurs.
Bale proved to be a player who slipped through United's grasp on several occasions, with the club's pursuit beginning in 2007 after his breakthrough campaign at Southampton. A 17-year-old Bale, then operating as an attacking left-back, ultimately chose Spurs despite United's attempts to lure him to Old Trafford.
United had just reclaimed the Premier League crown and would go on to lift the Champions League the following year. Yet Bale resisted the temptation of instant glory and more money at United, instead prioritising a pathway to first-team football.
"I rejected Manchester United and went to Tottenham," Bale recalled in 2023. "At the time, United were the biggest team in the Premier League, winning trophies, with the best players and the best coach.
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"The easy decision would have been to go to United, the biggest club in England, when I played for Southampton. You always want to be at the biggest clubs, but I made the decision to play football.
"At that age, many players would look for money and want to go to a bigger club. It was important for my development to keep playing football, that's why I chose Tottenham."
The transfer wasn't an instant success as the Wales international went without victory in his first 24 matches for Spurs, but an injury-enforced shift to the left wing elevated his performances to new heights. Following a 26-goal haul in the 2012/13 campaign, Bale secured a world record transfer to Real Madrid.
To United's dismay, Bale turned down the Red Devils for a second time in favour of moving to the Spanish capital. He then spent nine years with Los Blancos, claiming five Champions Leagues and three La Liga titles.
"United and Madrid were the two teams [who were interested]," Bale said on the Stick to Football podcast. "I did talk to United, yeah. They actually bid more than Madrid."
He added: "I spoke with David Moyes. Not [Ed Woodward], maybe my agent did. My heart was set on Madrid.
"I had something in place with Daniel Levy, maybe more of a gentleman's agreement, because he didn't want to sell me to a rival. So if a team did come in from Spain, Italy or wherever, I could potentially go because if we didn't qualify for the Champions League, which we didn't, I was then able to go there."
Upon leaving the Spanish club, Bale signed for Los Angeles FC ahead of captaining Wales at the 2022 World Cup. Shortly afterwards, he confirmed his retirement, aged 34.