Nah I'd be amazed if that's true, local journalists will have known far more about the story
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It's the press and especially the local press that blew this story out of all proportion.
There's every chance that Bale had numerous offers on the table - I said a couple of days ago it would surprise me if that wasn't the case given his abilities and his profile. But we've got no idea how good any of those offers were or how good City's offer was. The latter could have been laughable for all we know, but the club itself and the player are never going to say as much.
The suggestion is that he is not a designated player which means his salary would be no more than $1.6m per annum, which means no more than $30k a week.
I'm sure there will be other financial incentives but I'm sure in terms of salary we could've and would've matched it.
Where does this leave his future with Wales after the World Cup? Living in Los Angeles means a 12-hour flight back before every international window.
I must admit, even though I've not taken any of this seriously, I do feel gutted. All feels a bit flat now tbh.
No but his agent and Bale's non denial fanned the flames. Oh well, it is what it is, hope he does well and is firing on all cylinders for the WC. LAFC need a good playoff run, though. Season ends on Oct 9th, and there's a lot of plastic pitches over there...
Maybe time to change the thread title?
I honestly don't know what the standard or the general style of play out there is, I've never watched an MLS game from start to finish, but it may well suit him more than playing for Cardiff in the Championship, especially with the World Cup coming up.
Significantly better weather, fewer matches, possibly a less physical and frenetic style of football, more appealing lifestyle, and maybe a period of rest before travelling to Qatar. He's said all along that his next move won't be about money and I've little doubt that's the case with this one.
Disappointing, and doesn't really fit with the checklist for his next club that Bale and his agent spelt out a few weeks ago.
But I'm well on the way to persuading myself we have dodged a bullet.
In an alternative universe we got Bale on a 2 year contract and he was constantly injured, barely played, was the elephant in every changing room undermining the manager, soaked away a large % of the squad budget and slowly turned from hero and icon into an expensive liability.
Of course he could have been gold dust - inspiring and leading by example, selecting his games but providing regular match winning moments, raising the profile of the club and bringing in massive amounts of additional revenue to offset his salary.
Now we just need the news that Rambo is off to Turkey!