Some strange rumblings came out yesterday that Celtic are in the running to sign Gareth Bale when his contract is up at Real Madrid in the summer.
Aaron Ramsey heading to Sevco has made some people think that us getting Bale is a real possibility.
It isn’t.
First of all, Ramsey is only at Sevco on loan from Juventus, with reports confirming Juve are paying ALL, or at the very least the vast majority of Ramsey’s reported £400,000 pw wages. This has allowed the move to be affordable for Sevco. Juve are basically picking up the tab in the hope that Ramsey plays well for them and clubs will want to take him off their hands in a permanent deal in the summer.
Sevco having an agreement in place in the summer for first refusal to sign Ramsey for a set fee means nothing. It’s unlikely, especially if they don’t qualify for the Champions League, that they will be able to afford his initial fee, and they absolutely will not be able to afford the wages he will be after. Not even close.
And that’s the same for Celtic and Gareth Bale, who is reportedly on £500,000 pw at Madrid. He could take a 75% wage cut and still be on £125,000 pw.
The talk is Bale could look to sign a short term deal at a club in order to get first team football before the World Cup in Qatar starts. Is that really in his thoughts? Potentially, but he would never play for periods at Madrid and still be first pick for Wales, and that isn’t going to change.
Plus why come to Celtic and take a short term deal when he could easily go to an EPL club or even a club in Saudi or even Qatar itself for 6 months and earn an astronomical amount more? That way he can prepare for the climate, play first team football, and earn a hell of a lot more money.
But also, lets look at our current team. It is full of hungry young players, who play a high tempo pressing game. Would a marquee signing like a 32 year old Bale, who doesn’t like to train, fit into that philosophy?
Of course, he is a great player on his day, but it’s been years since we’ve seen the best of him, just like Ramsey across the city.
On paper, Bale would look to be a fantastic signing for Celtic. In reality, would that be the right signing for the greater good of the team in the long term? I don’t believe so, and I don’t think Ange would believe that either.
