Real Madrid hero confirms he rejected Manchester United

Real Madrid have been the most successful team in world football over the past decade, winning a remarkable five Champions League titles during that period of time. One signing that might have been a catalyst behind the start of that era was that of Gareth Bale, who arrived from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013.

At that point, Real Madrid had not won a Champions League title in more than a decade. Despite having players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria, Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and many others, they simply could not solve the European puzzle.

Bale would go on to score the goal that gave them the lead in the Champions League final that year as well as the Copa del Rey-winning strike against Barcelona in the same season. A few years later, he would score an unbelievable brace against Liverpool in another Champions League final.

A man for the big moments, Bale does not get enough credit for what he achieved during his time at Real Madrid. His time at Santiago Bernabeu ended in the shadows rather than under the spotlight.

Real Madrid hero confirms he rejected Manchester United

Bale made his name at Tottenham Hotspur before joining Real Madrid. But it looks like he could have ended up at Manchester United instead if he had wanted. The Welshman turned down the chance.

As reported by Manchester Evening News, Bale said:

"“I rejected Manchester United and went to Tottenham.“At the time, United were the biggest team in the Premier League, winning trophies, with the best players and the best coach.“The easy decision would have been to go to United, the biggest club in England when I played for Southampton. You always want to be at the biggest clubs, but I made the decision to play football.“At that age, many players would look for money and want to go to a bigger club. It was important for my development to keep playing football, that’s why I chose Tottenham.”"

It is interesting to think how different football history could have turned out if Bale had joined Manchester United over Tottenham Hotspur. Perhaps the move to Real Madrid would have never happened. And if it did not, would the club have enjoyed the historic European success that they did over the past decade? No matter how the club’s fans feel about the Welshman, there is no denying his contributions in the Royal White jersey.