Is Gareth Bale to become the most expensive footballer ever?

The start of the new Premier League season may still be a few weeks away, but the summer transfer window is in full swing. Rumours of transfers fill the back pages of every newspaper and there is none bigger than Gareth Bale’s proposed world record move from Tottenham to Real Madrid.

Gareth Bale ascent from being a potential flop at left back, to being one of the most coveted attacking footballer’s in the world marks a fairytale career turnaround. It was after all only four years ago that the then left back, had just played 24 games for Tottenham and been on the losing side every time, a Premier League record. There was even talk of him going on loan or being sold to relegation bound Birmingham City. After that dreadful run, It was during this period whilst out through injury, that Bale set about rebuilding himself to become the player he is today.

On his return to the team he appeared stronger than ever before and it seemed we were witnessing a transformation similar to that which Cristiano Ronaldo underwent at Manchester United. After spending his time out building his physique in the gym, he was now built like a boxer and the promising signs of talent now seemed to result in a spectacular end product. The epitome of the new Bale came when he announced himself to the world during a Champions League game versus Inter Milan in October 2010. Bale beasted Inter’s Brazilian right-back Maicon at the San Siro, at this time Maicon was considered the best defender in the world, and Bale ran past him as if he wasn't there to score a spectacular second half hat-trick.

Since that game Bale has not looked back, season on season and game after game he has improved. His stats show a meteoric rise in effectiveness, that has resulted in him being one of the most creative and threatening players in the Premier League. Last season he scored twenty-one goals and provided seven crucial assists in the Premier league alone, despite spending several periods out through injury.

The staggering sum of £100 million that Real Madrid are prepared to offer Tottenham for his services would shatter all previous transfer records. The current highest transfer record is Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Real Madrid in 2009, however the contrast between their stages of development when completing the move is quite marked. Ronaldo was transferred on the back of consistently incredible goal scoring feats, almost single handedly winning Manchester United titles and the Champions League. Madrid bought Ronaldo knowing they had the real deal, but with Bale there is still room for doubt. Only time will tell if this is one of the best or worst transfers in football history, if indeed it even happens at all!

The Top 5 Most Expensive Player Transfers Ever

No	Player	Fees	From	To
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	£80M	Manchester United	Real Madrid
2	Zlaten Ibrahimovic	£56M	Inter Milan	Barcelona
3	Kaka	£56M	AC Milan	Real Madrid
4	Radamel Falcao	£55M	Atletico Madrid	AS Monaco
5	Hulk	£52M	FC Porto	Zenit