Rob Page admits a move to Cardiff City 'ticks all the boxes' for superstar Gareth Bale.
Bale is coming to the end of what has been a financially lucrative and trophy-laden stint at Real Madrid this summer, and speculation has long been bubbling away over what his future may hold. Rumours linking him with a move to hometown club simply refuse to go away, although there have also been links to Tottenham Hotspur and MLS.
The 32-year-old has been named in the squad for Real Madrid's final-day clash with Real Betis on Friday, although it remains to be seen whether he will play any part, with relations between Bale and the club seemingly at their lowest ebb. Should he make any sort of appearance, he is likely to be given a hostile welcome by fans at the Bernabeu, who appear to have firmly fallen out of love with one of the club's most decorated players.
There are similar questions around whether Bale will play any part in the upcoming Champions League final with Liverpool later this month - a stage that may yet give the Welshman an opportunity for one last hurrah in the famous white shirt.
In contrast to the hostilities in the Spanish capital, Bale will be showered with adulation from each and every member of the Red Wall when he marches out at Cardiff City Stadium on June 5, with Page hoping the former Tottenham man can muster up the magic needed to elevate his team into their first World Cup since 1958.
Should Wales qualify, the questions over what comes next for Bale will only intensify, and Page admits that a move to the Bluebirds wouldn't at all dampen his enthusiasm for taking his skipper to Qatar.
"If he was playing for Cardiff and we had qualified for the World Cup I wouldn't change my thoughts or respect for Gareth whatsoever," he said.
"He would definitely be a part of the World Cup squad anyway. As long as he is out playing football - that's the most important thing for us."
In an exclusive interview with WalesOnline, Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett reiterated that a decision over his future has been placed on the backburner until the upcoming World Cup play-off final, but the rumours around a sensational move to Cardiff will likely continue to linger until categorically dismissed.
When asked if he understood why the links with City have persisted, Page added: "Yeah, absolutely. It ticks all the boxes. Ultimately, it’s Gareth’s decision and Cardiff City’s.
“And I think he’s [his agent's] right to say ‘Let’s throw full focus on to the 5th'. Let’s get there first and have that discussion.
“We can carry on talking about it and guess and have our opinion on it, and it does make sense. It makes a lot of sense. He can base himself at a training ground he’s familiar with.
“Ultimately, let’s see what happens on the 5th and I’ll probably be the first one after the game to ask the question! But we have other games. We have a tough month, we've got Holland a few days later. Full focus will be on the month.
"I will put no pressure on Gareth whatsoever. It's over to him and his family and he will make the best decision for him."
An appearance at a World Cup is arguably the only gap on Bale's otherwise glittering CV, and should Wales shake the monkey of 1958 off their backs, Page is clearly a little uneasy about the idea of his best player potentially stepping out onto the world stage without a club to his name.
"He has shown that when he turned up in November and pulled his calf after 20/25 minutes because he wasn't training," he added.
"When he turned up in March, albeit, he wasn't playing but he had four, five, six weeks' training under his belt so he had that stamina inside him to give himself the best chance. There is nothing like playing games. He won't be match sharp but he was still able to put a free-kick into the top corner and score two goals in a big game for us.
"He will absolutely need to be part of a club and training, even if he is not playing, at that tempo with other players every day."
Another seemingly unthinkable scenario is Bale hanging up his boots for good - an eventuality that has been suggested as a possibility should Wales fail to reach the finals in Qatar later this year.
“I wouldn’t want him to," Page said when asked about the possibility of Bale calling it a day. "The door is always open, for what he does in the changing room as well. I’m blessed – I see how he is with the players. I always tell this story about Sorba Thomas when I brought him in for the first time. The only other time he’d seen Gareth Bale was playing Fifa on the Xbox.
“All of a sudden, Gareth’s there, engaging with him and having a conversation with him and Sorba’s in awe of him. You realise he’s just a normal guy, a really nice guy.
“I see a lot of what Speedo (Gary Speed) was in Gareth, and I told him that. Whether you played Championship football or Premier League football, you were treated exactly the same. And Baleo does that. I’d want him to carry on as long as he possibly can because it’s the influence he has in that changing room as well.”
