History-changing: Gareth Bale explains why he rejected Manchester United for Real Madrid

Was Gareth Bale’s move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid one of the most important moments in modern European soccer history? The Welshman made the switch to Spain in 2013, immediately before the LaLiga giants began their period of Champions League dominance, a competition Bale would go on to win five times.

In the process, he turned down Manchester United in the same summer that the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down as manager and retired from the sport. The Red Devils, of course, have not won the Premier League, never mind the Champions League, since.

Bale explains why he chose Real Madrid

In an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, Bale explained why he ultimately made the move to the Bernabéu instead of to United, who had been the dominant force in English soccer for more than 20 years and were the reigning Premier League champions at the time.

It turns out that it was not entirely down to him, although the 36-year-old implied he would have made the same decision even if it had been.

“United actually bid more than Madrid. I spoke with David Moyes. Not Ed Woodward (United’s executive vice-chairman), maybe my agent did. My heart was set on Madrid,” Bale confessed.

Gentleman’s agreement with Spurs and Daniel Levy

“I had something in place with (Tottenham executive chairman) Daniel Levy, maybe more of a gentleman’s agreement, because he didn’t want to sell me to a rival,” the former winger explained. “So if a team did come in from Spain, Italy or wherever, I could potentially go because if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, which we didn’t, I was then able to go there. We had that gentleman’s agreement, even though he made it very tough.”

In his eight seasons in Spain, Bale scored 106 goals in 258 games for Real Madrid, winning 16 major trophies along the way, including those five Champions League titles.

Two clubs, two very different paths

Since 2013, United have won only five trophies, one Europa League and four domestic cups, and have posted nine of their worst Premier League finishes in the competition’s history, including 15th place in 2024-25.

Did Bale’s decision to choose Madrid over Manchester change the recent history of both clubs and European soccer? We’ll never know.

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