It couldn’t really happen, could it?
A bit like the idea of Cardiff having a £12,000-a-week wage ceiling, I’m not sure where the Gareth Bale to Cardiff rumours originated from, but they continue to linger and tantalise. Maybe it’s simply classic 2+2=5 thinking, or maybe there actually is something behind it all.
In many respects, it makes a great deal of sense, for all parties, as we keep optimistically reminding ourselves. I’m not sure if he has any real affinity with the club, but he has several business interests in the city.
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For Gareth, it affords him the opportunity to come home. He left Whitchurch High School at 16 to play for Southampton and has spent the following 16 years travelling the world displaying his miraculous, prodigious talent. He celebrates his 33rd birthday next month and even mere mortals begin to slow down at that stage in their career. Creature comforts and family time may now take precedence over trophies and accolades.
Bale was recently awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his services to both football and charity, but is he really charitable enough to play for free, or practically nothing at Cardiff? That is what it would take for such a move to take place and it remains the £28.8m question.
According to Spanish newspaper Marca, that is Bale’s current salary at Real Madrid, which equates to £554,000-a-week and makes him the third highest earner in world football. They believe his earnings during his time in Spain may top £220m, so he’s not short of a few bob. On his next move, Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett recently confirmed that finance will not be a factor, which is just as well.
“Gareth is probably the richest footballer Britain has produced,” Barnett admitted in an interview with WalesOnline. “In any case, no club on earth would be able to pay what he’s on at the moment. Gareth realises that. Money is not important to him. It will be down to where he wants to play. A personal choice, but only after the Wales games are out of the way.”
As if enough wasn’t already riding on Wales v Ukraine! The mere prospect of Bale joining Cardiff should Wales prevail makes it the biggest game in Cardiff’s recent history. How are your nerves now?
From Cardiff’s perspective, it would be an open goal. A gift from the gods and the opportunity of a lifetime. Bale’s arrival would be box office gold and give Cardiff the sort of worldwide profile they’ve never had before. There would be queues around the block for season tickets and they would sell shirts faster than they could print them.
It would give everyone associated with the club a massive lift, at the perfect time. Things currently feel rather frugal and low key just now. Cardiff are heading in the right direction, but everyone accepts that it might be a bit of a slog going forward, as the squad continues to be downgraded year on year.
Bale would change that overnight. It would give everyone hope again and allow them to dream. If it's possible to sign Bale, then anything is possible. It would help attract better players and more lucrative sponsors. Alternatively, if it doesn’t happen, whether Wales lose and he retires, which is a scenario that is frequently mooted, or if a more attractive offer materialises, it will be a bit of a come down.
In terms of what Bale would offer Cardiff on the pitch, that is another matter. It goes without saying that technically, he would be on an entirely different level to those around him, but that will be second nature to him after playing so long with a mixed bag for Wales. He has a lot of football in his legs though, after playing at a very high intensity since his teenage years.
The Championship is also an unforgiving division. It is relentless and very physically demanding. It’s the sort of football that veterans tend to escape from rather than move to. Aron Gunnarsson left Cardiff for the warmer, less demanding environment on offer in the Middle East rather than face another year in the second tier. It takes its toll on both your mind and your body.
It would also create a complicated situation for Cardiff. How often would he play? Would he pick and choose his own games? Would it make Steve Morison’s job easier, or harder in some respects, as both his presence and his absence would become political, headline news.
Cardiff would become a circus and very much play second fiddle to Wales, but you know what, it would all be worth it. If everything became about Bale, so be it. Football is about these moments. You can’t buy glory and you take it where you can get it.
I can’t believe I’m writing any of this if I’m honest. Even if it all proves to be pie in the sky, I’ve at least enjoyed the fantasy and imagining the scenario. I’ve spent the whole of Gareth Bale’s career unable to believe that we’ve been so lucky as to enjoy such a remarkable player. I can’t believe he’s Welsh and I still can’t believe he’s actually real.
Whatever it takes to get him in a Cardiff shirt, do it because it would all be worth it. If only for a few minutes, it would mean the world to the city and its supporters. Bale is the player that we’ll all tell our grandkids about, and they’ll in turn tell their grandkids about. The greatest player that the country has ever produced, let alone Cardiff. A genuine icon and a remarkably unaffected guy.
Just the 64 year wait to play in the World Cup and Bale’s future at stake on Sunday then. No pressure!
