Ahead of Tottenham’s London derby with Fulham later today, Spurs boss Jose Mourinho was asked about the future of winger Gareth Bale. The Welshman’s return to north London, on loan from Real Madrid, has not gone well, but he’s enjoyed a recent upturn in form.
Injury plagued and unproductive for most of this season, Bale is back among the goals now and this has inspired talk pertaining to his future. Mourinho responded to this reporter query by saying the decision is up to the Bale parent club.
Tottenham Starting XI Prediction vs Fulham: go here
Tottenham Team News vs Fulham: go here
In relation to that, you should contact your colleagues in Madrid and they should ask [Real boss Zinedine] Zidane because he is a Real Madrid player,” Mourinho said.
“He is not a Tottenham player. So Real Madrid has everything in their hands. They have the player, they have a player with one year of contract. They have the power in their hands. You know, I just have a player on loan and I’m trying to take the best out of the player for Tottenham Hotspur with all the respect to Real Madrid.
“It is the same with [Carlos] Vinicius [on loan from Benfica]. We try to take care of the players we have on loan, for us, but also for the respect we have for the club that loaned us the player. If you want to know anything about Gareth’s future, I think you should ask your colleagues in Madrid to ask Zizou.”
In 2013, Bale joined Real Madrid from Spurs for a then world record breaking £85.3 million transfer. He had two goals and an assist in the 4-0 thrashing of Burnley on Sunday.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.