Following the leakage of details pertaining to Gareth Bale’s world record £85m move to Real Madrid, the Welshman’s agent has called for an investigation into the matter. It is widely believed and frequently reiterated that Bale cost less than Cristiano Ronaldo but the new details appear to dispute the earlier claims.
A six-page document released by the website Football Leaks, football’s version of Wikileaks, revealed the full value of the deal which makes Real Madrid’s purchase of Bale in 2013 the most expensive ever in history, surpassing Ronaldo’s purchase in 2009. That contradicts Real Madrid’s claims over the years that Bale cost less than Ronaldo.
According to Real Madrid’s claims, they paid €91m (£78m) to Tottenham Hotspur for Bale in 2013, less than the €96m they paid to prise Ronaldo away from Manchester United in 2009. However, the leaked details suggest the Bale fee amounted to €100,759,418 (£85m), because Real had opted to pay in instalments and Tottenham were also forbidden from disclosing any financial details.
Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has slammed the details as “outrageous” and told the Telegraph: “There should be an inquiry and an independent investigation … I think it’s disgraceful that people can get hold of this sort of stuff. It shows complete disregard for both clubs and the player.”
It is believed Bale’s transfer fee has been claimed to be less than Ronaldo’s by Real Madrid is a means to appease the Portugal captain. In October 2013, Real Madrid president Florentino Perez also implied that Ronaldo’s fee was higher as he responded affirmatively to a question regarding whether Bale had been insured for €91m.
Earlier this month, journalist Jonathan Northcroft told the BBC he was asked not to touch upon the subject of transfer fees when he interviewed Bale, because “because Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t like to see that someone else cost more than him”. With the details leaked, it is clear who cost more between Bale and Ronaldo and it will be interesting to see how the Portuguese star reacts to the recent events.
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