Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Real Madrid: The bullies of football

Real Madrid are one of the wealthiest and most prestigious clubs in the game.



They are able to spend massive amounts of money on any player they desire, the most recent example of this being their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur superstar, Gareth Bale.
The Welshman had a sensational 2012/13 season in the Premier League, scoring 21 goals, with the majority being hit in extraordinary fashion. Such a player is not just vital to the north-London club, but to the Premier League as a whole, as he, along with other notable talents such as Wayne Rooney and Joe Hart, offer support to the idea that English league football is the best in the world.
Within the world of football, if a team wants a player then there remains an ethical code which is usually abided by. An offer is made, which is either accepted or rejected. Should the latter occur, a team may either make a new offer, or pursue a cheaper option. It is that simple.
Madrid on the other hand, usually take a different approach.
They cajole, make comments, invent quotes in their heavily biased newspaper ‘La Marca’ and generally do anything necessary to unsettle the player and make him re-think leaving a club who has shown him nothing but loyalty.
Today, Zinedine Zidane was quoted as saying: “If [Bale] has expressed a desire to join Madrid, then Tottenham should give him permission to speak with us.”
How dare he suggest such a thing? Bale is being paid a massive wage to ensure that Tottenham own him and, furthermore, he remains on a contract that states he will remain a Spurs player until 2016.
He was happy at White Hart Lane before Real Madrid began raising their interest. The onslaught of comments made by the Bernabeu club has been continuous this summer and Tottenham should look to report Real Madrid to FIFA for their appalling behaviour.
Spurs fans are well within their right to be angry, as this is not the first player that has been snared by the Madrid press machine.
Croatian star, Luka Modric also became enamoured with the idea of Spanish football after repeated comments made by Real Madrid bosses. He left and Spurs have suffered from a void in the playmaker role, ever since.
Why can’t Madrid see the unfairness of what they are doing? If they make an offer and it is rejected then simply make a bigger offer.
Why is Zidane requesting talks with Bale, rather than dealing directly with Tottenham themselves? Simple. It is a disgraceful tactic of unsettling the player, leaving the north-London club with no alternative but to sell the player, rather than risk Bale upsetting other members of the squad.
I am by no means suggesting that Real Madrid are the only team to employ such a tactic, as it has been observed in all of the top clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester United and PSG, among others.
However, Los Blancos' actions stink of injustice and FIFA should enforce stronger regulations to ensure that this cannot keep happening.
It is only football that will suffer if it is allowed to continue.

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