Which club will Gareth Bale join this summer...Spurs, Rangers, Newcastle, Cardiff?

Even at the ripe old age of 32, Gareth Bale is still a baller. To prove this the Welsh wonder netted a brace against Austria - a breathtaking free-kick in the 25th minute and another stunning finish after the break. Until that moment most people had probably forgotten that he was still playing for Real Madrid and was working his way up the PGA Tour rankings.

Bale has had another terrible injury ravaged season at Real Madrid. He's played just five games and scored one goal, a total of just 270 minutes on the pitch. An early season knee injury was followed by a calf problem, then Covid-19, then his back went. Typically the Spanish media has called him a "parasite", due to his apparent lack of effort when playing for the club. But for Wales he's a man reborn.

Bale's contract runs out in the summer and his recent performance for Wales will have definitely been a big jab in the ribs to the clubs who have been tracking him for the last few months. Planet Sport delves into the teams leading the race to lure him back to the UK.

Tottenham Hotspur

Spurs are still the red hot favourites to land Bale in the summer, because 'reportedly' it's already a done deal. Although we've heard that kind of claptrap before.

Bale spent six glittering years at White Hart Lane earlier in his career, the undoubted highlight being his astonishing hat-trick at Inter Milan in the Champions League. Upon returning from Madrid for last season's loan spell, he barely featured before Christmas, but found something like his old fluency and threat as the season neared its end.

Whether Antonio Conte wants the injury prone Welshman in his side is another question. Jose Mourinho wasn't the greatest fan, and Conte also gives off an aura of someone you don't want to muck about either.

Feels like this one could end in tears if it happens.

Newcastle United

As predictable as night following day, Newcastle are unsurprisingly being linked with a big name player looking for a final pay day.

But fair play to Eddie Howe and his scouting team, the new transfers certainly worked and have helped pulled the club clear of relegation danger. But what the Geordies want now are big name players...one superstar at the very least.

However, we'd have to do a really in-depth review of local golf courses to see if they are enough to tempt him to the north-east. I hear Goswick Links in Berwick-upon-Tweed isn't bad, but it's a bit of a drive.

Rangers

The Scottish giants are suckers for a big name player in their twilight years, but a Welsh international in their ranks isn't a well-trodden path.

The aforementioned Ramsey, Declan John and Andy Dibble are the only players that spring to mind, and digging them up hurt my brain.

Cardiff City

In pure soccer terms, Cardiff offers Bale the opportunity to become a giant fish in a small pond with every match going through him, but one suspects that coming back to his home town is the factor which holds the greatest appeal.

Plus the thought of a midweek trip to Hull in mid-winter to slug out a lifeless 0-0 probably doesn't hold much appeal to a multi-millionaire.

Becoming a golf professional

Does the prospect of playing at The Belfry, Royal Troon or St Andrews every weekend hold more appeal than Spurs, Rangers or...er Newcastle?

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