Gareth Bale, Tottenham and Real Madrid's world record offer

Gareth Bale has been left distraught by the refusal of Daniel Levy, the Tottenham Hotspur chairman, to consider a world record €100m (£86.3m) offer from Real Madrid.

Real have made their move for their long-time target and Bale is determined to complete the transfer. He wants to play Champions League football, which Tottenham cannot offer after they finished fifth in the Premier League last season, but the allure of Real runs some way deeper.

Bale recognises Real as one of the world's leading clubs, capable of competing for the grandest prizes. In the event of leaving Tottenham, whom he joined from Southampton in 2007, he has always dreamed of playing for the Bernabéu club.

He has enjoyed his six years at White Hart Lane, where he is feted by the supporters, but feels that the time is right to move on. It is impossible to dispute the value and service that he has given to the club, with last season being his best. The 24-year-old scored 26 goals in all competitions and swept the individual awards, being named as the PFA's player and young player of the year and the Football Writers' Association player of the year.

Bale is horrified by Levy's intransigence. The chairman has a reputation as a tough negotiator but to Bale, the offer from Real is one that should be impossible to refuse. The world record transfer is Cristiano Ronaldo's £80m move to Real from Manchester United in 2009.

The situation has got under Bale's skin and it is threatening to turn ugly. He has had a glute muscle problem, which has restricted him in pre-season, but it has come to feel slightly convenient as he has been in no frame of mind to play. Bale featured in the club's opening friendly against Swindon Town but he missed the game against Colchester United and, although he travelled to Hong Kong for the Asia Trophy, he has not trained and he missed Tottenham's matches against Sunderland and South China.

Tottenham used Bale at a promotional launch for their new kit at the beginning of the month and he talked of wanting to help the club finish in the Champions League places, which raised hopes that he could yet snub Real's advances.

Only on Friday, Villas-Boas said that talks were "ongoing" with Bale's representative about the possibility of the player signing a new deal at White Hart Lane. But there have been no such negotiations and Bale's mind is made up about his next move.

 
 
Money has changed a lot in football, as evident in Falcao joining Monaco for cash. In my candid opinion, Real Madrid will not spare any cash to get their prized target, ...only time will tell.