Ex-Spurs star Gareth Bale made a goalscoring debut for Real Madrid over the weekend, but Liverpool legend John Aldridge insists that the La Liga giants have massively overpaid for the Welsh attacker.
In his column for Sunday World, Aldo observed:
"You have to hand it to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy if the rumours are true and he has got more than £90m out of the Gareth Bale deal.
"Okay, the lad is a good player, but why the hell do Real Madrid think he is worth that much?"
Aldo is not the only one who questions's Bale's worth. Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane - who is currently Assistant Manager at the Bernabéu - believes that Madrid's new signing has 'incredible potential', but he also questioned the transfer fee. He told Canal Plus:
"Ten years ago I was bought for €75m and I said I was not worth this. Even now I would think that a player is not worth this. It's football, unfortunately. It is incomprehensible to pay so much."
Aldo's former team-mate, Mark Lawrenson, is, however, convinced that Bale is worth the money. In a recent column for The Mirror Lawro praised the Welsh international for 'winning games on his own' and 'inspiring players around him to raise their game'. He enthused:
"People scoff at the comparison [to Ronaldo and Messi] but Bale is on an upward curve towards that kind of greatness. He is not quite at their level - yet - but...at the moment, he is an absolute match for any team. You just can't argue with that adjective 'brilliant' to describe him"
Former Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish also believes Bale is worth the money. He told The Mirror:
"The value of a player is whatever somebody is willing to pay for him. I don't think Bale is in the class of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi yet, but he might be one day. Ronaldo is a far better player now than when he left Manchester United, and there is no reason why the same should not happen to Bale".
Pepe Reina, however, believes that Neymar - who cost €43m LESS than Bale - is the better player. He told Spanish newspaper El Correo:
"Bale is a fantastic player, but Neymar has more magic, and is definitely the better player"
The reputed €100m (£85m)for Bale is grossly overpriced, and I personally don't feel he's capable of making a Messi-Ronaldo type-impact in La Liga. It's not a matter of ability, but mentality: Ronaldo and Messi are supremely confident, and totally at ease with the massive expectation continually on their shoulders.
I don't get the impression Bale would deal with it in the same way, and still be ridiculously prolific in front of goal. Ronaldo, especially, is very strong mentally, and his prodigious goalscoring record - whilst carrying the burden of being the world's most expensive player - is testament to that. Additionally, prior to his move to Madrid, Ronaldo's goalscoring was off the charts:
* 69 goals/16assists in his last two seasons
* Averaged 42.5 goals/assists per season.
Comparatively speaking, Bale is nowhere near this level:
* 37 goals/24 assists in last two seasons.
* Averages 29 goals/assists per season.
At Madrid, Ronaldo exceeded his Manchester United goalscoring exploits, but is Bale capable of doing the same? Doubtful. Bale seems like a good guy, and I hope he succeeds, but there's a strong possibility that he'll crash and burn at the Bernabéu. The pressure is off for now, but given the transfer fee, Madrid fans will expect Bale to score as many goals as Ronaldo, and when that doesn't happen, they'll quickly turn on him.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
In his column for Sunday World, Aldo observed:
"You have to hand it to Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy if the rumours are true and he has got more than £90m out of the Gareth Bale deal.
"Okay, the lad is a good player, but why the hell do Real Madrid think he is worth that much?"
Aldo is not the only one who questions's Bale's worth. Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane - who is currently Assistant Manager at the Bernabéu - believes that Madrid's new signing has 'incredible potential', but he also questioned the transfer fee. He told Canal Plus:
"Ten years ago I was bought for €75m and I said I was not worth this. Even now I would think that a player is not worth this. It's football, unfortunately. It is incomprehensible to pay so much."
Aldo's former team-mate, Mark Lawrenson, is, however, convinced that Bale is worth the money. In a recent column for The Mirror Lawro praised the Welsh international for 'winning games on his own' and 'inspiring players around him to raise their game'. He enthused:
"People scoff at the comparison [to Ronaldo and Messi] but Bale is on an upward curve towards that kind of greatness. He is not quite at their level - yet - but...at the moment, he is an absolute match for any team. You just can't argue with that adjective 'brilliant' to describe him"
Former Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish also believes Bale is worth the money. He told The Mirror:
"The value of a player is whatever somebody is willing to pay for him. I don't think Bale is in the class of Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi yet, but he might be one day. Ronaldo is a far better player now than when he left Manchester United, and there is no reason why the same should not happen to Bale".
Pepe Reina, however, believes that Neymar - who cost €43m LESS than Bale - is the better player. He told Spanish newspaper El Correo:
"Bale is a fantastic player, but Neymar has more magic, and is definitely the better player"
The reputed €100m (£85m)for Bale is grossly overpriced, and I personally don't feel he's capable of making a Messi-Ronaldo type-impact in La Liga. It's not a matter of ability, but mentality: Ronaldo and Messi are supremely confident, and totally at ease with the massive expectation continually on their shoulders.
I don't get the impression Bale would deal with it in the same way, and still be ridiculously prolific in front of goal. Ronaldo, especially, is very strong mentally, and his prodigious goalscoring record - whilst carrying the burden of being the world's most expensive player - is testament to that. Additionally, prior to his move to Madrid, Ronaldo's goalscoring was off the charts:
* 69 goals/16assists in his last two seasons
* Averaged 42.5 goals/assists per season.
Comparatively speaking, Bale is nowhere near this level:
* 37 goals/24 assists in last two seasons.
* Averages 29 goals/assists per season.
At Madrid, Ronaldo exceeded his Manchester United goalscoring exploits, but is Bale capable of doing the same? Doubtful. Bale seems like a good guy, and I hope he succeeds, but there's a strong possibility that he'll crash and burn at the Bernabéu. The pressure is off for now, but given the transfer fee, Madrid fans will expect Bale to score as many goals as Ronaldo, and when that doesn't happen, they'll quickly turn on him.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
Great player to watch though. The goals he scored last season were excellent, forget price its inflated we should know we paid 35 million for Carroll.
ReplyDeleteIt really isn't that difficult:
ReplyDeleteAbility + Potential + Length of Contract Held by Spurs + Marketing/Sponsorship Revenues + Spurs Not Wanting to Sell + Spurs Not Needing to Sell = Ridiculous Transfer Fee.
It was meant to be ridiculous, that's the whole point. What elsse would induce Spurs to sell a player who is a marketers dream and who has the potential to be one fo the best of the best of the best players in the World. It's not rocket science.
Regarding the contrast in stats between Ronaldo and Bale: well, er, DOH, even as a Spurs fan I can see that there is a huge difference between playing for Spurs in the strong EPL and playing for Real Madrid in a relatively weak Spanish league and that the latter is going to be conducive to more chances. Oh, and Ronaldo is older and more deeveloped as a player, too. Again, not exactly rocket science.
Drop the condescending tone of your posts or I'll just delete them in future. Make your point in a civil manner, or don't bother at all.
ReplyDeleteLike with Ronaldo, I can now enjoy watching him playing well without adversely affecting LFC. Well at least until next seasons Champions League :-)
ReplyDeleteLong term success? Much depends on the service, especially with Ozil now gone, and whether his game is able to gel well with the dynamic of Ronaldo's. Isco, with his talent, could replace Ozil's creativity in the long run. I'm just not sure on well or bad things could work between the styles of Bale and Ronaldo.
ReplyDeleteYour poll isn't the best, it should read is GB worth 86mil then the answer would be a resounding NO, NO player in the world is worth that! do i think he will be a success, this depends on him being able to adapt to the different culture, but i reckon he will do well but they have that many world class players, the question is will he be able to impose himself on the Real Madrid team, not entirely sure in i am honest!
ReplyDeleteMessi?
ReplyDeleteAs i said NO player is worth that sort of money, but if anyone was to go for anywhere near that is should be Messi he is way and above better than anyone else in the world ATM. worth 86+ mil tho, i don't think so!
ReplyDeleteJamie aern t shoulder injuries usually 3 months out , luckily it is not a massive blow as suarez and allen are coming back soon
ReplyDeleteand suarez is the leauges most creative player
allen holds possesion very well
liverpool vs sunderland
sturridge,suarez,moses,allen,gerrard,lucas,henderson,toure,agger,enrique,mignolet
hendo at rb because wisdom is not anywhere near ready
southampton will indicate how well we do this season because if we can win without suarez and coutinho it will be massive
ReplyDeletesturridge,sterling,moses,hendo,gerrard,lucas,sakho,toure,agger,enqique,mignolet
for that game
Lets put this into context here, Liverpool V's Southampton at Anfield, with or without Tino we should beat them at home IMO, this is games we should be winning and with very little fuss involved if we are to be serious top 4 contenders.
ReplyDeleteplease Jamie ,update us as soon as you can on coutinhos injury , hopefully its only 2 weeks unlike borinis 3 months
ReplyDeleteCIES Football Observatory (whoever they are) did a study on this and worked out Messi is worth £215m. Ronaldo is just over £100m in the study because he's 28 etc. Bale was something like £41m I think. I don't know how much faith you'd want to put in this, but interesting that someone's put some proper work into it. Wonder what they have made of downing and Carroll in January 2011 :-(
ReplyDeletesouthampton beat chelsea,city and demolished us last year , they are giant killers
ReplyDeleteJamie , rodgers got his subs all wrong , alberto would have controlled the midfield unlike aspas and toure is not a rb why not play hendo there
ReplyDeleteand why is kelly on the bench if he cannot play
rodgers will ruin lfc at this rate
They are a really good side. Their youth system is first class too, and it's nice to see them doing well. Gary Neville wrote a good article about their new manager being a big fan of home grown talent being combined with only high quality foreign imports (more interesting read than I'm making it sound!)
ReplyDeletejamie rodgers makes too many mistakes , do you think he should be sacked and sammi hyypia bought in ?
ReplyDeletemaybe carragher could be manager as well
we need someone who understands lfc and loves lfc
rodgers is most definitely not ruining LFC mate. I think Kelly needs a bit more time from what I read
ReplyDeletewhy is he on the bench then
ReplyDeletemclauchlan and flanno are also available
its so irresponsible
and this is not the first time
joe allen played with an injury against southampton when hendo and shelvey were available
we are playing some of the worst football , getting completley dominated by villa and swansea and playing hodgson hoofball , rodgers needs to be sacked liverpool should only be dominated by barcaloena,utd ,madrid and munch
ReplyDeletebut midtable teams are killing us
the last 25mins were the worst lfc has ever played
ReplyDeleterodgers out
lol just lol
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any details on Coutinho's injury? Specifics? Estimated down time?
ReplyDeleteMaybe in case he needed to play Toure at cb for any reason? I'm guessing he didn't want to jeopardise Kelly unless he had too.
ReplyDeletePoor Zidane -- absolutely brilliant footballer, apparently an idiot in every other sphere. If it comes to that, objectively, NO ONE in the entertainment world is "worth it" for what they do. In the financial world, if he put his thinking cap on for once, he would realise the 75 million euros for him 10 years ago was worth more than 100 million euros is today.
ReplyDeleteDominated by United? Hahah, no... What is your freaking problem? Were top of the table drew one time away against a decent team, seriously there's absolutely no reason to fall into despair at the moment ...
ReplyDeleteOne difference I see between them is that Messi and Ronaldo have been huge talents since they first broke through, whereas Bale has developed into a world class player(sorry Jaimie). For me this raises questions as to whether or not he will be able to sustain this talent, a bad injury could kill his explosive pace.
ReplyDeleteHowever a club like Madrid prides itself on its wealth and probably needs to be seen making marquee signings. I'm sure it probably will work out for them somehow.
shove your blog up your arse. Bale only started flourishing even more as a striker last season, not before...he has a fierce mentality of a champion just like ronaldo...get a day job, or don't quit sir.
ReplyDeleteZidane also said Bale will be the best player in the world, and he was in the top 3 or even the best player in europe aside from cristiano/messi
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing 'condescending' about it - it IS simple, and if John Aldridge doesn't understand exactly why the fee was what it was then it just goes to show that being a good player doesn't carry over into some Yoda-like ability in other sphere's of life.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, anyway, I am going to put your site on 'Hide' on NewsNow so that I don't see headlines pertaining to THFC and follow them only to find myself on a Liverpool site.
p.s. I don't know about a 'civil manner', I haven't really insulted anyone, just said it is not rocket science why the fee was what it was, but I have seen quite a few uncivil posts by Liverpool fans on your site towards THFC and their fans.
Ta Ta
The annoying thing is that we had the chance to get Ronaldo AND Bale at various points in their careers,
ReplyDeleteThem's the breaks.... :(
Okay Mr. know-it-all.
ReplyDeleteIf Messi was 215m then downing is at least 215.
ReplyDeleteFirst off Bale is not nearly as good as Messi or Ronaldo, and i dont think he will ever reach that level, but then again i dont think any players will for a long time. In my opinion Ronaldo is the best player in the world simply for his goal scoring ability. If i had to choose between Messis magic and Ronaldos goals for my team, i would trump for Ronaldo it pains me to say. Bale will not reach these heights in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOn the transfer fee. He is the most expensive player yes, but if Ronaldo had of been sold in the summer there is no doubt who would have commanded the bigger fee.
Madrid look at tranfer fees a lot different than other clubs. Their initial outlay is always balanced not just on what the player can achieve on the pitch, but what the will achieve for them in marketing, commercial and image deals etc. ( his goal celebration has now been PATENTED and will appear on official clothing lines etc which madrid get a hefty cut from)
100 mil is obviously over priced for someone who is simply a footballer. But transfer records will always be broken by the next big thing especially where RM are concerned. They see him as not just a ball player but a business asset. By paying so much they increase the hype and fan frenzy around him, increasing revenue brought in by his signing.
Of course if Bale bombs on the pitch, it will have been a very calculated, very expensive, gamble that failed.
But i dont think Bale needs to reach the dizzying heights of Ronaldo to be a success in Spain. Ronaldo will be the top player at Madrid for the next 5years, and if Bale can reach 75% of that, provide assists for Ronaldo and score 25+ goals a season, which i think he will, i see him being a success for madrid and will pay back their investment with interest. If they win the CL or Liga, i think they will win both, 100mil will be forgotten.
One thing is for certain. His tag as the most expensive player in the world will not last forever. There is always the next big thing around the corner, and prices are always going up. Madrid are always willing to pay.
I'm sure that there's some sort of formula that can justify RM breaking even on the deal, if not profiting. Shirt Sales + Image Rights, TV Rights, Resale etc. However, 25+ goals a season is a stretch, based purely on past performance, he had only 1 season with double digits, and that was 21 goals in the league, 26 across all comps. There are only so many goals that can be scored, between Ronaldo, Isco, Benzema, Bale, and the rest, it might be hard to find room to score 25+, probably closer to 15, with 10 assists is reasonable.
ReplyDelete100m is crazy money, but maybe it's like the Japanese with the first tuna of the year - buying for millions when it is worth only thousands - set the tone.
Maybe 25+ is a bit unrealistic, but i dont think so with a really superior team around him, in an inferior league. Bale carried spurs last year for 6months. I think he will get a lot moere chances and a lot more service. Either way i dont really think he'll be a failure, but he wont reach Ronaldos heights thats for sure.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to overlook the obvious: Real needed to make a statement following poor showings both domestically and in Europe with world-beater Mourinho. Barca signed some brazilian dude, e presto!
ReplyDeleteGood to hear Zidane isn't a part of this nonesense, humiliating act of white horrors Spurs and Real. Such disgusting clubs.
ReplyDelete