When Tottenham Hotspur signed a young Gareth Bale from Southampton back in 2007, few would have predicted that he would go on to become one of the 21st century’s best players.
Bale, who arrived at Tottenham as a left-back, struggled to make an impact initially, so much so that he was linked with a move to Birmingham City.
However, Bale eventually got into his stride and, within a few years, made a name for himself as one of the Premier League’s most exciting forwards.
Bale eventually earned himself a move to Real Madrid, becoming the world’s most expensive player for some time.
And later on in his career, after winning all there was to win at the Bernabeu, Bale returned to Tottenham on a season-long loan.
Now, Bale has delivered a one-word verdict on both Spurs and on Harry Redknapp, the manager who got the best out of him at N17.
Tottenham a hotbed of ‘memories’ for Gareth Bale as Harry Redknapp deemed a ‘legend’
Gareth Bale took part in TNT Sports’ latest Word Association game, in which he was asked to sum up a number of related topics with one word.
When it came to Tottenham, Bale said “memories”, and when it came to Harry Redknapp, the Welsh icon described him as a “legend”.
Other Spurs-related topics included Luka Modric, who Bale deemed “class”, Ledley King, who was dubbed “underrated”, Peter Crouch (“tall”) and White Hart Lane (“atmosphere”).
@tntsportsfootball Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo & Luka Modric… Gareth Bale plays Word Association 🗣️ #garethbale #cristianoronaldo #ronaldo #cr7 #bale #spurs #championsleague ♬ original sound – TNT Sports Football
What Sir Alex Ferguson once said about Gareth Bale which stunned Harry Redknapp
In Bale’s early days at Tottenham, he incurred an unwelcome record – Spurs failed to win any of the first 24 games he featured in.
And Redknapp revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson actually suggested he wouldn’t put Bale on the pitch for Manchester United, had this streak of bad luck occurred at Old Trafford instead of N17.
“Gareth had that horrendous statistic hanging round his neck of not winning a game, which ultimately stretched to 24 games, when we went to play Manchester United at Old Trafford,” Redknapp wrote in The Telegraph.
“After the game, Alex said to me, ‘b—-y hell, Harry, it must be difficult for you to put him on the field’.
“Alex was big on superstitions and I am still not sure to this day whether he was joking or not, but it was clearly a huge topic.
“It was not a nice thing for Gareth to deal with and it must have affected him.
“Whether he started the game or came off the bench, Spurs did not win, and it became a bit of a joke outside the club – and inside the dressing room as well.
“Gareth just got on with it. Eventually, we won a game with him in the team, beating Burnley 5-0, and he never looked back.”
In the end, that statistic is now one of the most insignificant of footnotes in Bale’s career.