Real Madrid CF is the most successful soccer club in the history of the sport, they have won the most amount of trophies as a soccer club and rank 1st in the list of most trophies. Every player dreams of playing for the Spanish giants in Real Madrid. Players like David Beckham, Ronaldo (R9), Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, etc have played for this legendary club.
Also, soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Madrid in 2009-10 for a club record $100m, who turned out to be one of the greatest players for Real Madrid CF. However, recently according to Darren Eales, when Real Madrid signed Gareth Bale, they intended to shield Cristiano Ronaldo. Los Blancos wanted the Portuguese star to continue being the most expensive player in the world, as per, the former director of football for Tottenham FC.
Former Tottenham Hotspur transfer chief Darren Eales revealed that Real Madrid aimed to “protect” Cristiano Ronaldo during the Gareth Bale transfer saga in 2013, but failed to do so. The negotiations shed light on the dynamics and challenges of high-profile transfers in foot…
— Footy Odds On (@FootyOddsOn) December 13, 2023
In a recent Interview Eales said, “We were dealing with Real Madrid, who had Cristiano Ronaldo. And they wanted to get it so that Ronaldo was still the most expensive player and they were paying more, so there was a lot of negotiation about how they were going to spin it at their end because they were protecting Ronaldo,” he said via GiveMeSport.
Eales also said that Real Madrid made every effort to spend less than what they had to acquire Ronaldo from Manchester United because they did not want him to feel undervalued by Bale. He continued by saying that Los Blancos had to spend £85.3 million ($107.7 M), which was £5.3 million more than they did to sign the Portuguese star because they were unable to reach an agreement below the world record.
Cristiano Ronaldo complicated Gareth Bale’s transfer to Real Madrid back in 2013
Darren Eales, a former director of football administration at Tottenham Hotspur, recently disclosed the specifics of the Gareth Bale transfer. According to him, Real Madrid wanted Ronaldo to continue being the most expensive player on the team, which made the transaction challenging and very complicated.
Eales revealed in an interview, “It was an interesting one. When it got to that stage and he was committed it was about how do we get the maximum value possible, but it was one of the most complicated deals that I’ve ever dealt with. We were dealing with Real Madrid, who had Cristiano Ronaldo.”
2️⃣ GARETH BALE, KARIM BENZEMA, CRISTIANO RONALDO
Stats:
268 GOALS AND 102 ASSISTSBale, Benzema, and Ronaldo formed a formidable attacking trio during their time at Real Madrid. 🌟⚽️
They were all incredible players!
Ronaldo, known for his goal-scoring prowess, and… pic.twitter.com/S7vGciBM2H
— 🇪🇸✍️ (@MC_rodrig0) October 10, 2023
In 2013, the Spanish powerhouses paid a record-breaking $107.7 million, and they shared four UEFA Champions League wins alongside Ronaldo during one of the team’s most prosperous periods. Bale played at Real Madrid for nine trophy-filled years, making 258 appearances and scoring 106 goals. With Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, the legendary player from Wales forged an incredible alliance.
In the 2018 UCL final versus Liverpool, he scored twice, one of which was an incredible overhead kick. He had numerous injuries throughout his tenure with the team, and he didn’t get along well with Zinedine Zidane, the manager at the time. Bale nevertheless made an impression on the team before leaving Real Madrid in 2022.