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Bale a bargain for Madrid, says Sherwood

Gareth Bale scored the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final © Getty Images

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Tottenham head coach Tim Sherwood has claimed that Gareth Bale may turn out to be a bargain signing for Real Madrid, if he helps the Spanish club to be crowned as European champions for a tenth time next month.

Bale won his first trophy as a Real Madrid player on Wednesday as his late goal sealed a Copa del Rey win against Barcelona and he could add the Spanish league and Champions League to his list of honours before the season is finished.

Sherwood insisted he is not surprised by Bale's success in Spain since his world record £86 million move from Tottenham last summer, as he claimed the fee received for the Welsh winger was reasonable for his talents.

"His fee looks cheap now," Sherwood told reporters. "If he is going to deliver them the European Cup, which it looks like he might, then that looks good business [for Madrid].

"He's a freak of nature. When he was running on the track to score his goal against Barcelona he ran past three old ladies eating a hamburger, came back on the pitch and was still fastest to the ball. It was an incredible goal.

"I'm not surprised by how he has dealt with it at Real Madrid. The boy is married to the game and he has got talent to spare, but it was not a case of us wondering what might have been if he was still here now. I think to be fair, he wanted to go there. Once a player wants to go, it is very difficult to keep him."

Sherwood went on to case an envious eye over the riches Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has to work with at the Bernabeu, as he suggested he has a dream job with the superstars at his disposal.

"If you are Ancelotti, you must sleep easy at night," added Sherwood with a smile. "He goes to bed and thinks, who are we playing tomorrow. Well, it doesn't really matter because we have Gareth and Ronaldo fit, we have Isco in there and Xabi Alonso doing what he does. The defenders stay where they are and we will win three or four nil.

"Much as he will take credit for possibly winning the Champions League, it's got to be an easier job than what Tony Pulis has done at Crystal Palace this season."

Sherwood insisted he is not planning any fresh talks with the Tottenham hierarchy over his future at the club, despite persistent speculation that he will be replaced ahead of the new Premier League season in August.

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