Florentino Perez claims Gareth Bale was cheap signing

Florentino Perez unveils Gareth Bale at Bernabeu

Real Madrid President Florentino Perez states that Gareth Bale’s signing for Real Madrid was cheap, and revealed that an offer from Manchester United impelled their deal. Los Blancos signed the 24-year-old Welshman this summer in a deal believed to be between €90m and €100m.

“Bale was cheap,” Perez said, as per a report in Football Espana. “The signing of Gareth Bale is the model of Real Madrid, signing the best player in the world at this moment, and that is what I say.

“All the great players of Real Madrid have been cheap. I will not say the amount, but we must not focus too much on the purchase price. Some numbers that have come out I find difficult to understand and, if I were a journalist, I would not have reported them.

“Tottenham did not want to sell and we respected that. Then, when we found out that Manchester United would be making an offer, we made our own.

“Since his childhood he had the dream of playing for Real Madrid and he asked us to make it possible for him to come.”

Perez gave the benefit of the doubt to Barcelona‘s new Coach, Tata Martino, who described the possible transfer fee paid to secure Bale’s services as ‘disrespectful’.

Perez Said: “Tata Martino is new to this place and so didn’t know what he was saying. I’m sure he did not mean anything bad by it. He is uncertain of how football works here, including at Barcelona. The signing of Bale lends itself to being a demagogue. It benefits no-one.”

Perez, when asked if he had played any role in Iker Casillas’s prolonged stay on the bench, said: “I have never spoken with any coach over anything. He is the best goalkeeper in history, a man of our house, the best in the world.

“We have the best two goalkeepers in the world. Jose Mourinho’s decision in December was a sporting one, as a warning first and then because he suffered an injury.

“Casillas is the best and has to keep working. Diego Lopez is a great professional. All the Madrid players know that we care for them. They are both ready to fight and in principle, neither will leave in the winter.”