Real Madrid: 3 teams that Gareth Bale could go to this summer

#3 Tottenham Hotspur

A return to Tottenham for Bale would be huge news in North London

It’s usually rare for a player who leaves a smaller club for a bigger one to return to the smaller one at some point, unless they’re miles past their prime – think Wayne Rooney going back to Everton in 2017 – but given the changes that have occurred at Tottenham since Bale left for Real Madrid, it wouldn’t be a massive shocker to see him return to White Hart Lane at some point, maybe even this summer.

When Bale left Spurs in 2013, they were still a side fighting to make their mark in the Premier League – they did have some Champions League experience under Harry Redknapp in 2011, with Bale famously destroying Inter Milan, but they weren’t the title contenders they are now under Mauricio Pochettino. And they also have one of the finest stadiums in the world to call home, too, following the opening of the new White Hart Lane last week.

The big issue with Bale going back to Spurs would be how he’d fit in. A highly-paid superstar suddenly coming in could disrupt the fine balance that Pochettino has put together in his squad, with players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli not really being treated differently to squad men like Ben Davies and Fernando Llorente despite their reputations. For that reason – as well as the huge wage he’d command – it’s hard to see Bale coming back to Tottenham, but in football you can’t rule anything out.