Tottenham icon and Welsh hero Gareth Bale has snubbed the opportunity to stay in the UK to play football in 2022/23 as he is in the process of finalising a move to the MLS.
Bale left Tottenham for Real Madrid in 2013 but returned last season on loan and contributed 16 goals and three assists in 34 appearances back in a Spurs shirt, despite having a couple of injuries and limited Premier League starts in the first half of the season under then-head coach Jose Mourinho. Once his second stint in N17 was over, he returned to the Spanish capital for the 2021/22 season under Carlo Ancelotti where like Chelsea legend Eden Hazard, was limited to very few minutes in their respective trophy success stories.
The 32-year-old played a total of 280 minutes in La Liga last term, as per FBref.com, whilst he only clocked up a mere nine minutes in the Champions League. Upon release from the Santiago Bernabeu, questions about retirement were popping up. But due to his nation Wales making the cut for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, he decided that the show must go on for at least one more season with a move across the Atlantic now on the cards.
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According to MLS journalist Tom Bogart who reported this exclusive first, table-topping Los Angeles FC are currently in the process of finalising a deal to sign the winger who will now be able to try and replicate what Wayne Rooney did in the MLS during his brief stint. For Spurs, they were always outsiders in the race to try and bring back their club icon for a third stint. football.london understood that while Tottenham's managing director of football Fabio Paratici is a big fan of Bale, the move was always unlikely to ever come to fruition this summer with Antonio Conte's priorities elsewhere.
The likes of Richarlison are being targeted in the attacking areas as Paratici is understood to be hard at work regarding a fourth transfer addition which isn't seen to be imminent anytime soon amid the latest Djed Spence update. The other main option that was on the table for Wales' number 11 was a move closer to home in the form of Cardiff City. Our sister title Wales Online had reported that the former Southampton academy graduate was recently spotted at the training ground to hold face-to-face talks with Bluebirds manager Steve Morison.
However, they don't seem to have been enough as Bale will not be arriving at the Cardiff City Stadium this summer after the Championship regulars confirmed the signing of Reading's Andy Rinomhota on Friday.
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