Tim Sherwood: Tottenham sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a cheap price

Gareth Bale

Tim Sherwood has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur would be challenging for the title this season had they not sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last summer.

Bale joined Real in a world record £86million deal in August of last year and won his first piece of silverware as a player on Wednesday, when his stunning solo goal sealed the Copa del Rey title for Los Blancos.

Spurs on the other hand have stuttered without the flying Welshman, having endured a season of turmoil that saw Sherwood take over from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December after a summer of staff upheaval backfired, with Spurs clinging on to a Europa League qualification place.

Sherwood feels things could have been different if Bale had stayed, telling reporters, “Last year he scored 21 goals for Tottenham and made nine assists.

“He scored a winner in eight of our games. We could do with him right now.

“If you put what he accumulated last year on top of what we’ve got, we would probably be challenging for the title.

“His fee looks cheap now! If he is going to deliver them (Real Madrid) the European Cup – which it looks like he might do – then that looks good business.

“Look at his goal, he was playing against Barcelona! He has had a great season. I never had any concerns that he would settle out there because he is married to the game.

“He loves the game and if it worked on the pitch for him, I think he was always going to settle off it. That is generally the case for all players. If you are doing it on the pitch, it is easier to settle off it.

“Of course you would like to be able to keep all your best players, but likewise with Luka Modric, it’s sometimes not possible to do that.”

Gareth Bale has scored 14 league goals and set up a further 12 in his debut season with Real Madrid.