Shock revelation from former Tottenham boss.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale was set to join Hamburg for just £5m back in the 2008/09 season, according to the Daily Mail.
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The former Tottenham Hotspur wide-man was struggling to impress at White Hart Lane at the time, having joined the club as a promising young left-back from Southampton, though he had struggled with fitness and form.
Former Spurs boss Martin Jol, in charge of Hamburg at the time, claims a deal was nearly struck for the Welshman to come to Germany on the cheap.
“I saw his potential straight away,” Jol said of Bale “But other people didn’t see that in the early stages of his career and that led to Spurs offering Bale to me when I went to Hamburg.
“We had to pay a lot of money to get him though, about five or six million, which we couldn’t afford at the time.
“I then asked Daniel Levy if we could take him on loan instead, but at that time it was not possible.
“So yes, Hamburg could have bought Bale for £5million because, of course, he was not playing at that moment.
“He couldn’t get into the side, so Spurs offered him to other clubs.”
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