Bale: Manchester United were interested in me

It’s just a month short of the five-year anniversary of Gareth Bale joining Tottenham Hotspur from Southampton.

At the time, the then 17-year old was linked with moves to not only Spurs, but also to Arsenal and Manchester United.

Spurs of course won the Welshman’s signature and the now 22-year old has explained why he chose a move to North London.

Bale, who cost Spurs an initial £5million fee, told the Match of the Day Magazine: “Man United were interested in me but I wanted to play first-team football.

“I thought I had a better chance of getting that at Tottenham.

“The manager at the time, Martin Jol, told me he wanted me to go straight into the first team.

“That was the main thing that drew me to the club.”

Bale has since made 152 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur, scoring 28 goals.