Real Madrid Legend: New Signing Gareth Bale Not Worth £85m

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Former Real star critical of modern transfer fees.

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Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane has criticised modern transfer fees in football, saying that the club’s new record signing Gareth Bale is not worth the £85m they paid for him, according to Sky Sports.

Zidane, now assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu, has been as vocal as anyone in an attempt to persuade Bale to leave Tottenham for a move to Real Madrid this summer, and believes that in a couple of years’ time the Welshman could repay his hefty transfer fee.

However, the Frenchman still feels it is incomprehensible that footballers could move for so much money. Zidane himself became the world’s most expensive footballer for some time in 2001, when he moved to Real Madrid from Juventus for £50m, and he says he doesn’t feel he was worth that kind of money either.

Asked if Bale was worth £85m, he said: “You need to ask that question in a year’s time. He has an incredible potential but he still has room for improvement.

“Ten years ago, they bought me for 75million euros and I said I wasn’t worth it.

“Today, I tend to say a player is not worth that. Two clubs agree on a price and no-one is forcing the other to do anything.

“That’s football. Unfortunately, it’s incomprehensible with what’s happening today to pay so much.”

Real Madrid have also broken the world transfer record for the signings of Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years, as they have become well-known for their high-profile ‘Galactico’ signings under the presidency of Fiorentino Perez.

Zidane will be all too aware of the pressure of living up to that expectation that comes with the transfer fee, and says he will do his best to help Bale relax and play his best football.

“My role will certainly be to tell him that he plays as he knows how to, to not put too much pressure on himself,” he added.

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