Friday 23 August 2013

Done deal? Bale shirts available on Real website BEFORE official announcement

Gareth BaleAndre Villas-Boas refused to comment on speculation regarding Gareth Bale's future - but Real Madrid already appear to think they have got their man.
On the ‘Official Real Madrid Store’ webpage, Tottenham winger Gareth Bale is clearly listed as No 11 on the La Liga giants' squad list between Mesut Ozil and Marcelo and his new replica shirt is available for purchase.
Shortly after the screen grabs were taken, the site was down for maintenance.


Jumping the gun? Gareth Bale has been listed in the Real Madrid squad list on the club's website and his shirt is available to buy
Gareth Bale
Real had kept No 11 free when they announced their squad numbers in pre-season and are desperate to land Bale and hand him the shirt.
The Welshman has been linked with a move to the Spanish capital all summer after some scintillating performances for Spurs last season.
Real have made no secret of their desire to sign Bale this summer and Tottenham technical director Franco Baldini flew to Madrid on Wednesday to finalise Bale's world record £94million transfer to Los Blancos.
Franco Baldini
Talks: Tottenham's technical director Franco Baldini was in Madrid on Wednesday to discuss Bale's record-breaking switch
However, it seems Madrid have jumped the gun and dropped the strongest hint yet that Bale's arrival is imminent by selling shirts bearing the former Southampton man's name.
Villas-Boas tried to dodge the first question about the progress of Bale's transfer in his post-match press conference after Tottenham's 5-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi and said he was concentrating on 'building a very strong team'.
When pressed on the frontman's future the Spurs boss said: 'On Gareth I am not able to comment on anything that has been my tone since the start of the season and I will not come out of it.'
Despite Villas-Boas' comments it appears that the 24-year-old has played his last game for the North London club.
Andre Villas-Boas
All smiles: Villas-Boas refused to comment on Bale but won't be so cheery if Bale completes his expected move to Real Madrid
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has pulled off a coup by spending most of the cash from Bale's sale even before it has been confirmed, avoiding the inflated costs often quoted to clubs who are known to have lots of money to spend.
Having already spent £60million on four new signings, the White Hart Lane club have also held talks in London with Roma officials over the potential signing of Argentine forward Erik Lamela.
However, a move for Anzhi Makhachkala star Willian has been cast into doubt with Chelsea now reportedly in pole position to sign the 25-year-old.
Willian
Blow: Anzhi star Willian was close to signing for Tottenham but it now looks like he'll join Chelsea
Madrid aren't the first club to have let slip about a potential switch this summer after Manchester United accidentally announced the appointment of Everton manager David Moyes by asking fans to send the Scot a personal welcome message before an official announcement had been made.
In 2008, Chelsea scuppered a move for Madrid star Robinho when they started selling replica shirts bearing the Brazilian's name before they had actually signed him. The frontman later moved to Manchester City and claimed his move to Stamford Bridge fell through because Real were angry at the Blues' for denting their 'pride'.


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