
Gareth Bale has admitted he was never intending to sign with Manchester United in the summer of 2013, despite holding talks with manager David Moyes.
By then, it was clear that Bale had outgrown Tottenham Hotspur, especially after the club missed out on Champions League qualification by a single point—finishing agonizingly below rivals Arsenal. But it was more than just Real Madrid, who eventually completed a $133 million (£85 million, €100 million) transfer to narrowly surpass what the club paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009, interested.