Gareth Bale reveals details of Man Utd transfer bid that eclipsed world-record Real Madrid deal

Martin Macdonald

• 5 Mar 2026 08:01 CST
• 5 min read

News

In 2013, Gareth Bale became the most expensive player in history when he signed for Real Madrid from Tottenham for £85.1 million (€100.8 million).

That broke the record held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Los Blancos from Manchester United for £80m in 2009.

The Welshman would go on to have an extremely successful spell with Los Blancos, winning three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, two UEFA Super Cups, three FIFA Club World Cups and, most impressively, five Champions League titles.

Bale's best moment in a Real Madrid shirt undoubtedly came in the 2018 Champions League final when he scored the best goal of his career and one of the best the final has ever seen, rising high for an outrageous overhead kick.

{"type":"header","rows":["Player","Clubs","Fee","Year"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["1. Neymar","Barcelona → PSG","€222m","2017"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["2. Kylian Mbappé","Monaco → PSG","€180m","2018"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["3. Alexander Isak","Newcastle → Liverpool","€145m","2025"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["4. Philippe Coutinho","Liverpool → Barcelona","€135m","2018"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Ousmane Dembélé","Dortmund → Barcelona","€135m","2017"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["6. João Félix","Benfica → Atlético Madrid","€127.2m","2019"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["7. Enzo Fernández","Benfica → Chelsea","€121m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["8. Antoine Griezmann","Atlético Madrid → Barcelona","€120m","2019"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["9. Florian Wirtz","Leverkusen → Liverpool","€117.5m","2025"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Jack Grealish","Aston Villa → Man City","€117.5m","2021"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["11. Cristiano Ronaldo","Real Madrid → Juventus","€117m","2018"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["12. Declan Rice","West Ham → Arsenal","€116.6m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["13. Moisés Caicedo","Brighton → Chelsea","€116m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["14. Eden Hazard","Chelsea → Real Madrid","€115m","2019"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["15. Romelu Lukaku","Inter → Chelsea","€113m","2021"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Jude Bellingham","Dortmund → Real Madrid","€113m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["17. Paul Pogba","Juventus → Man Utd","€105m","2016"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["18. Gareth Bale","Tottenham → Real Madrid","€101m","2013"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["19. Harry Kane","Tottenham → Bayern","€95m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Randal Kolo Muani","Frankfurt → PSG","€95m","2023"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Antony","Ajax → Man Utd","€95m","2022"]},

{"type":"row","rows":["= Hugo Ekitike","Frankfurt → Liverpool","€95m","2025"]}

]}}table_end}

Things could have been very different, though, as he has revealed that Man Utd actually eclipsed Real Madrid's record outlay with an alternative offer from Old Trafford.

"United and Madrid were the two teams [who were interested]," Bale said on The Overlap.

"I did talk to United, yeah. They actually bid more than Madrid. I spoke with David Moyes. Not [Ed Woodward], maybe my agent did. My heart was set on Madrid. I had something in place with Daniel Levy, maybe more of a gentleman’s agreement, because he didn’t want to sell me to a rival.

"So if a team did come in from Spain, Italy or wherever, I could potentially go because if we didn’t qualify for the Champions League, which we didn't, I was then able to go there. We had that gentleman’s agreement, even though he made it very tough.”

When asked if he was ever going to sign for Man Utd, he responded: "No."

🚨🗣️ Gareth Bale on leaving Tottenham in 2013:

"I did talk to Manchester United. They actually bid more money than Real Madrid, I spoke with David Moyes, but my heart was set on Madrid."

[@WeAreTheOverlap] pic.twitter.com/G0b2ctHxt1

— UtdXclusive (@UtdXclusive) March 5, 2026

Moyes wanted Bale

Former Manchester United boss Moyes has confirmed that during his time at the club, he wanted to sign Bale, Ronaldo, Toni Kroos and Cesc Fabregas, among others.

In 2016, he reflected on his pursuit of Bale.

“When I first went in to United my real target was Gareth Bale,” said the now Everton manager, who did not last a full season in Manchester.

“I felt all along that Gareth Bale was a Manchester United player and I fought to get him [from Tottenham] right up until the last minute. We actually offered him a bigger deal than Real Madrid but Gareth had his mind made up on going to Madrid. He was, though, in my mind, the player I really wanted.

“The other one I came really close to getting was Cesc Fàbregas, who we thought we would get [from Barcelona] right up until the last minute. And Sir Alex [Ferguson] had told me there was always a chance Ronaldo might come back from Real Madrid.

“Toni Kroos had agreed to come in the summer. I’d agreed it with Toni himself and his agent. It was a done deal, so that was the level I was targeting – but sometimes you don’t get deals done; the Cesc one was disappointing, it was very close. I don’t know if those signings would have made the difference but I would have hoped that, given time, I would have been working with a successful Manchester United team now.”

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