Bale is brilliant and would be a excellent addition to the squad if all other things were equal, meaning if we actually had a midfield and defence. £120million could build us a squad to win the CL with the right additions. If we can fix the defence in January when by all means add Bale in the summer, It's not my money anyway.
Gareth Bale
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You'd think some were being asked to chip in the way they go on about the fee, for starters I am certain that figure includes the wages we'd be paying, papers often lump both together for a more sensational headline.
I also see all the calls for lots of CM's and CB's to be bought instead, but I don't think LvG will add more than one of each to the squad, he'll be planning on getting lots more out of Herrera, Blind, Jones and Smalling for starters. It also ignores that an equally big issue for us is a lack of pace and wide threat in our team, Bale is in the top 5 players in the world in the role he plays and is PL proven, he'd be as big of a fix for this team as Hummels or Strootman, if not bigger.
The way LvG didn't dismiss the story yesterday I thought was interesting, when asked the same question a while back about Ronaldo he stated Real would not sell him.
I also see all the calls for lots of CM's and CB's to be bought instead, but I don't think LvG will add more than one of each to the squad, he'll be planning on getting lots more out of Herrera, Blind, Jones and Smalling for starters. It also ignores that an equally big issue for us is a lack of pace and wide threat in our team, Bale is in the top 5 players in the world in the role he plays and is PL proven, he'd be as big of a fix for this team as Hummels or Strootman, if not bigger.
The way LvG didn't dismiss the story yesterday I thought was interesting, when asked the same question a while back about Ronaldo he stated Real would not sell him.
How much would you pay for him?? 60-80 mil is a fair price. Anything above is stupid.
Whats stopping us from getting them all? If the money is there and it doesn't effect FFP then I'm all for grabbing the best players no matter the cost. People will complain if we pay £80 million surely but if he's part of a team that wins the title it'll be money well spent for us fans.
Because not even us have unlimited money. If we sign Bale for 120m and then Falcao (which likely is already a done deal) for 40m means that we have spend 160m pounds on those two players. Not sure that there will be much money to spend on central defender(s), right back cover/competition and central midfielder. I doubt that we have 250m pounds to spend, only a year after we spent 150m and 2 years after we spent 90m or so. 500m on 3 years is too much, regardless even for our revenue.
So likely, if we sign Bale, we won't sign many other players. Oppurtunity cost!
van Gaal was somewhat cagey about it when asked in his press conference. Make of that what you will.
would you guys take bale for if it meant de gea went the other way?? hmmmm
I believe there's a high chance de Gea ends up at Real Madrid eventually, I also believe there's a high chance Bale end up at Manchester United eventually. So would I take a swap deal? No, purely because de Gea is the more difficult of the two to replace.
I'd be dead against this. He's already picked Madrid over us for a start.
We should put our fecking network of scouts to some use for once and start trying to build for the future instead of trying to buy success. We look desperate with the money we are spending.
Not to mention the fact we don't play with wingers and are leaving our best youngster out already due to this. We've abandoned all traditions the second Fergie left.
We should put our fecking network of scouts to some use for once and start trying to build for the future instead of trying to buy success. We look desperate with the money we are spending.
Not to mention the fact we don't play with wingers and are leaving our best youngster out already due to this. We've abandoned all traditions the second Fergie left.
I genuinely think De Gea is happy here. I don't think he'll leave any time soon.
While I do think he is genuinely happy, his girlfriend remains the issue.
Want Bale 
If we can't keep De Gea, yes. If the decision is only in our hands, no.
Other players can be as effective as Bale but De Gea ?
Not so long ago Louie said that there's a special relationship between clubs like Real and United. Everything is possible, especially after Di Maria's monster deal.
Apparently we have the resources to be a serious player on the market. Woodward is no joke and his cooperation with LVG made look Liverpool this summer like a mid table club. Case very much open with lots of other possibilities. We're talking about almost Chelsea/City level of investments.
Good times for transfer muppetry indeed but after signing six players in the summer it's not that far from calling it a logical opinion.
Apparently we have the resources to be a serious player on the market. Woodward is no joke and his cooperation with LVG made look Liverpool this summer like a mid table club. Case very much open with lots of other possibilities. We're talking about almost Chelsea/City level of investments.
Good times for transfer muppetry indeed but after signing six players in the summer it's not that far from calling it a logical opinion.
Would i offer de Gea in a swap deal if it meant getting Bale? Yes.. I would probably take Valdez.
I love de Gea but he is only a goalkeeper after all and would probably break our hearts and leave us at his peak anyway, i assume. Bale is one of the top 5 players in the world and getting him in his prime would be like getting ronaldo when we sold him.
But i think Bale has no intention at all of leaving Madrid anytime soon and we won't sell de Gea for a very long time anyway. Hoping de Gea is happy to stay just my gut tells me he will eventually want to move back to barce/madrid as they would take him in a heart beat.
I love de Gea but he is only a goalkeeper after all and would probably break our hearts and leave us at his peak anyway, i assume. Bale is one of the top 5 players in the world and getting him in his prime would be like getting ronaldo when we sold him.
But i think Bale has no intention at all of leaving Madrid anytime soon and we won't sell de Gea for a very long time anyway. Hoping de Gea is happy to stay just my gut tells me he will eventually want to move back to barce/madrid as they would take him in a heart beat.
I wouldn't spend half of that on him at the moment. We need him very little in comparison to other areas on the pitch and I'd be a little embarrassed for the club if they went out and did that.
Of course it's too much but i wouldn't care.
It isn't my money and if we would pay over 100m for a player then there's surely much more other cash available.
I doubt adidas, Chevrolet & Co. are happy to be the main sponsor of a club with not much hope to the win the CL in the next years......we will splash a lot of money to go on the samel level of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich over the next 2 seasons.
FFP is a massive help for us on the transfer market.
It isn't my money and if we would pay over 100m for a player then there's surely much more other cash available.
I doubt adidas, Chevrolet & Co. are happy to be the main sponsor of a club with not much hope to the win the CL in the next years......we will splash a lot of money to go on the samel level of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich over the next 2 seasons.
No way City or Chelsea would pay over 80m for Bale.....let alone this possible 120m.
FFP is a massive help for us on the transfer market.
Will not happen anyway and that's a good thing. Really don't want us to be another Real Madrid, who just spend the money for the sake of it. For that money we could also keep De Gea, sign Godin, sign Strootman and Depay and that would be overall better and a fecking exciting team for the future. He is not worth the money anyway and if Real wants to do another ridiculous deal, then please without our money.
Buy reus for 20m to activate his clause, offer him 30m sign on fee with 300k/week, it's still cheaper than buying bale
No thanks.
I've never particularly bought into Bale-mania - whilst he has had a frankly excellent career at Real so far when I thought he'd flop, I still think Real were crazy to break the Ronaldo record for him, and if we were then to go beyond that then I don't know what I'd think, it would seem like pure madness.
We are a club which is traditionally funded through our own mains, which basically means the money comes through our fan-base (either directly through match-days and merchandise, TV audiences, etc., or indirectly through sponsorship from companies wishing to grab the attention of our massive fan-base) so I think we do have to be somewhat careful - we don't have a sugar daddy to pay our bills however high they are; quite the opposite in fact. We penny-pinched way too much under Fergie at the end, but this is the other extreme.
Basically what I'm saying is, I don't think Bale would be, ah..., erm... value
Also I reserve the right to completely change my view if we do sign him and he's excellent for us
We are a club which is traditionally funded through our own mains, which basically means the money comes through our fan-base (either directly through match-days and merchandise, TV audiences, etc., or indirectly through sponsorship from companies wishing to grab the attention of our massive fan-base) so I think we do have to be somewhat careful - we don't have a sugar daddy to pay our bills however high they are; quite the opposite in fact. We penny-pinched way too much under Fergie at the end, but this is the other extreme.
Basically what I'm saying is, I don't think Bale would be, ah..., erm... value
Also I reserve the right to completely change my view if we do sign him and he's excellent for us
This. 300k is too much though (because then the likes of Di Maria and potential new world class signings may ask for it) but 20m for BVB and the same for Reus (and a few millions for hsi agent) may do the job. A lot of money plus a superstar here may be better than less money and not guaranteed a place on the first team for Madrid/Bayern.
Saying that, Reus doesn't seem to be a money whore so who knows.
He'd improve us dramatically and we'd be signing the best british player about (which is a bonus). Far too expensive but if we can afford it then why not.
Save the money for a proper RB/CB/CM and get Reus for 1/3 of the mentioned price.
It's not our money and we have no idea what's really "available" in United's treasury. 120m BP seems over the top to me but in 5 seasons such a sum might be viewed a shrewd investment.
The better question is whether 120m on Bale is a better investment than 120m on 3 other great players.
It might just be.
In today's world you're not guaranteed a great footballer any longer with a mere 40m transfer fee. You're guaranteed to get solid players (Herrera) at 30m, very good players (Mata) at 40m, but the truly elite players are now being purchased at 60m+. Bale went for 85m and is still probably worth at least that much, "worth" being viewed in commercial as well as pure footballing terms.
My view of our problem on the pitch is that we need a true box to box midfielder above all else. Fellaini is not the man for the job, nor is Herrera. Carrick holds the fort extremely well, but he doesn't have the engine we're looking for. Whoever the answer is, we need to address that hole in the squad in January or next summer.
If 120m on Bale precludes a deal for a top B2B midfielder, then I'm opposed to it. But if we can bring in the mid we want (say, Strootman or whoever we fancy) AND bring in Bale for 120m (hopefully less, at least on principle) then we're suddenly extremely scary even if we do nothing else.
Checklist:
Our keeper situation is in great shape.
I'm actually not too bothered about our back line at all, though I would like to see Varela brought in to cover (or challenge) Rafael.
We need a 6 midfielder to shore up what is otherwise a decent central midfield crew.
We could use a wide midfielder/forward like Bale, who has proven his mastery in the English prem and in the CL.
Our forward situation is more than adequate, although it's still an open question as to whether we should sign Falcao long term or not. That's another transfer fee question waiting to be answered. But I would love to see Henriquez given a chance with the first team. For me, the jury is out on Wilson.
Do this and we're scary. Very scary.
De Gea
Rafael Jones Rojo Shaw
Di Maria Carrick Strootman
Falcao Rooney Bale
...with van Persie, Blind, Smalling, Blackett, McNair, Januzaj, Herrera, Fellaini, Henriquez, Valencia, Young, Wilson and Varela (we probably have to let Evans and Mata go), and Lindegaard of course, as squad men is actually pretty ridiculous.
Adding Bale and Strootman (or Vidal, though I'm done thinking about him) to the existing squad, saying goodbye forever to Anderson, Cleverley, Nani, Chicharito and surely Evans as well -- selling Mata, sadly, unless he's happy to be a squad man for us but I think we'd want to cash in on him -- would be incredible. We'd be well poised to reclaim the prem trophy and compete extremely well for the CL trophy. And our bench players would be more than strong enough to compete well for the FA Cup and league cup.
The better question is whether 120m on Bale is a better investment than 120m on 3 other great players.
It might just be.
In today's world you're not guaranteed a great footballer any longer with a mere 40m transfer fee. You're guaranteed to get solid players (Herrera) at 30m, very good players (Mata) at 40m, but the truly elite players are now being purchased at 60m+. Bale went for 85m and is still probably worth at least that much, "worth" being viewed in commercial as well as pure footballing terms.
My view of our problem on the pitch is that we need a true box to box midfielder above all else. Fellaini is not the man for the job, nor is Herrera. Carrick holds the fort extremely well, but he doesn't have the engine we're looking for. Whoever the answer is, we need to address that hole in the squad in January or next summer.
If 120m on Bale precludes a deal for a top B2B midfielder, then I'm opposed to it. But if we can bring in the mid we want (say, Strootman or whoever we fancy) AND bring in Bale for 120m (hopefully less, at least on principle) then we're suddenly extremely scary even if we do nothing else.
Checklist:
Our keeper situation is in great shape.
I'm actually not too bothered about our back line at all, though I would like to see Varela brought in to cover (or challenge) Rafael.
We need a 6 midfielder to shore up what is otherwise a decent central midfield crew.
We could use a wide midfielder/forward like Bale, who has proven his mastery in the English prem and in the CL.
Our forward situation is more than adequate, although it's still an open question as to whether we should sign Falcao long term or not. That's another transfer fee question waiting to be answered. But I would love to see Henriquez given a chance with the first team. For me, the jury is out on Wilson.
Do this and we're scary. Very scary.
De Gea
Rafael Jones Rojo Shaw
Di Maria Carrick Strootman
Falcao Rooney Bale
...with van Persie, Blind, Smalling, Blackett, McNair, Januzaj, Herrera, Fellaini, Henriquez, Valencia, Young, Wilson and Varela (we probably have to let Evans and Mata go), and Lindegaard of course, as squad men is actually pretty ridiculous.
Adding Bale and Strootman (or Vidal, though I'm done thinking about him) to the existing squad, saying goodbye forever to Anderson, Cleverley, Nani, Chicharito and surely Evans as well -- selling Mata, sadly, unless he's happy to be a squad man for us but I think we'd want to cash in on him -- would be incredible. We'd be well poised to reclaim the prem trophy and compete extremely well for the CL trophy. And our bench players would be more than strong enough to compete well for the FA Cup and league cup.
We should pay no more then what they paid for him. Any more and we're mugs.
It's certainly an idea.
I love how Reus is a certainty to sign, as long as wel show up with whatever the hell his release clause is.
£120m - no, thank you
£70m - yes, please
£70m - yes, please
I have a feeling we'll get Bale, but not for the that price. Probably 75-80M
wasn't there a rumour a while ago that Madrid wanted to buy Di Maria back, and only that would pave the way for Bale to come here?
£120m for one player is ridiculous. I'd rather we buy 3-5 players for that. They would do much more for United than a single player.
Besides, Bale is no Ronaldo or Messi.
Besides, Bale is no Ronaldo or Messi.
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Isn't Varela on a 12 month loan to madrid and then they have the option to buy him for a fixed fee (not sure what the fee is but someone on here told me it was low... About a million I think)
So bringing Varela in is kind of out of our hands
Defeats the purpose. These rumours started with news that the Glazers wanted the biggest names to increase the value if the brand. Reus wouldn't come close to Bale in that regard.
It's plain to me that if Utd go down this route, they have some assurances from certain sponsors that the sponsorship deals would increase. That's the only reason I see that Adidas signed such a huge contract..ie if Utd go down the Madrid route, Adidas could drop Real since Madrid keep a lot of their shirt sales etc in house. Their deal with Utd is more lucerative to them because they keep all of the merchandising sales and profits. I'd say United would be a dream to work with.
I don't think it's a coincidence that this happens at the very beginning of a deal with a new shirt sponsor.
People here keep saying we should just bid for reus instead of spending all that money on bale.
From all accounts, reus is either going to Bayern or real so I don't think we aren't in that equation.
Bale isn't worth £120, his actual value is around £45-55m IMO, however in today's inflated market A player of his caliber goes for at least £70m.
If we are spending that money we could/should be getting godin/strootman/Cuadrado and clyne. Those 4 players (or their equivalents) would enable us to go for both the title and champions league next year.
From all accounts, reus is either going to Bayern or real so I don't think we aren't in that equation.
Bale isn't worth £120, his actual value is around £45-55m IMO, however in today's inflated market A player of his caliber goes for at least £70m.
If we are spending that money we could/should be getting godin/strootman/Cuadrado and clyne. Those 4 players (or their equivalents) would enable us to go for both the title and champions league next year.
Isn't messi's buy out clause only €50m more... Can't addidas buy him for us instead (or as well) and we can spend our money raping dortmund for hummles gundogan and pizieck
It was reported that Nike was willing to help out with out attempt to resign Ronaldo, having adidas assist with bale is an idea that should be on the table.
As I'm sure others have said, we have other areas we need to prioritize first. If we were to try and sign Bale then he'd have to be a glory-signing add on rather a signing that prevents us from securing other targets first.
As glory-signings go he would make sense though. 1) He plays in one of the positions we need to strengthen, 2) we'd have a natural advantage when it comes to signing him in that we're the biggest team in his real home league, 3) he's obviously massively marketable, especially for us, 4) we were willing to match Real's bid when they signed him.
Add in the the fact that the club obviously want to secure a few galactico-lite signings and any other potential mega-signings are likely to go elsewhere.....
My main worry here would be that Real don't particularly want to sell and we waste a large part of the summer pursuing an unobtainable target....
As glory-signings go he would make sense though. 1) He plays in one of the positions we need to strengthen, 2) we'd have a natural advantage when it comes to signing him in that we're the biggest team in his real home league, 3) he's obviously massively marketable, especially for us, 4) we were willing to match Real's bid when they signed him.
Add in the the fact that the club obviously want to secure a few galactico-lite signings and any other potential mega-signings are likely to go elsewhere.....
My main worry here would be that Real don't particularly want to sell and we waste a large part of the summer pursuing an unobtainable target....
I wouldn't mind having him at the club. The price has got to be right though.
Real needs to sell more than we need to buy - they won't be able to bring in new signings unless they sell some old ones, both for FFP and playing time. Very few clubs can afford such a player so we would really only be bidding against ourselves. He should cost substantially less than what Real paid.
Real needs to sell more than we need to buy - they won't be able to bring in new signings unless they sell some old ones, both for FFP and playing time. Very few clubs can afford such a player so we would really only be bidding against ourselves. He should cost substantially less than what Real paid.
I want him, but this smells of a setup. The purpose is probably to destabilise De Gea while he's negotiating a new contract.
Could be true though.
Could be true though.
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