David Moyes refuses to confirm if Manchester United made a late bid to hijack Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid

Reports in France claim Premier League champions offered Spurs £125m but Bale had his heart set on Real move

Jack de Menezes
Saturday 14 September 2013 16:05 BST
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Gareth Bale and David Moyes
Gareth Bale and David Moyes

Manchester United manager David Moyes has refused to confirm whether or not the club made a late bid to try and sign Real Madrid-bound Gareth Bale.

Reports emerged in France claiming that United offered Premier League rivals Tottenham nearly 150m euros (£125m) for lure the winger to Old Trafford, although Bale later completed his transfer to the Spanish capital for a world-record fee of £86m.

Speaking after he witnessed his side beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in front of a home crowd that featured former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, Moyes told BT Sport that he would not be commenting on transfer matters while the window remained shut.

He did add: "I have said many times we are always bidding for the best players."

Moyes was more focused on his side's display in the lunchtime kick-off, with goals from Robin van Persie and the returning Wayne Rooney seeing the club back to winning ways after a draw and a defeat in their last two games against Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.

Bale looks set to make his Real debut later tonight when Madrid travel to the Stadio El Madrigal to take on Villarreal, although it has not been confirmed whether he will start the match or appear from the substitutes’ bench.

Speaking on Friday, manager Carlo Ancelotti said: “I know that Tottenham received a higher bid for Gareth Bale than the one from Real Madrid."

His comment were echoed by French newspaper L’Equipe, who claimed United had made an offer for Bale, but it was the winger’s personal desire to play for the Spanish club that saw him turn down the Premier League champions.

Even if Bale features today, it will be in an unusual position after Ancelotti confirmed he intends to deploy Bale on the right wing.

Bale will travel to Villarreal and will play,” Ancelotti said. "I'm not sure if he will start or come off from the bench."

When he was questioned further on where Bale would feature, Ancelotti replied: "On the right hand side [of attack]."

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