Supporters of Tottenham Hotspur have been reacting to quotes which were made by Jose Mourinho regarding Gareth Bale.
According to recent reports, Spurs are working on a deal to bring the Welshman back to North London from Spanish outfit Real Madrid (via The Athletic).
It is claimed that the nature of the transfer is yet to be finalised but the player is keen to return to Tottenham.
However, when speaking about the transfer link during a pre-match press conference prior to Spurs’ clash with Bulgarian club Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Mourinho provided a blunt answer (via TalkSPORT).
He said: “Gareth Bale is a Real Madrid player and I don’t talk about players from other clubs. It’s not my job to have contact with agents and I don’t want to.”
The first sentence of these quotes was relayed to Spurs fans by Hotspur Related, which had lots of them talking.
#thfc head coach José Mourinho on Gareth Bale: "Gareth Bale is a Real Madrid player. I do not talk about players from other clubs." [The Athletic]
— Hotspur Related (@HotspurRelated) September 16, 2020
We all knew he’d say that ?
— Alex (@_10kanee) September 16, 2020
Happy enough with that.
— Tan Guy (@centralthoughtt) September 16, 2020
Bale spent six years as a Tottenham player between 2007 and 2013, having arrived from Southampton for £13.23m and departed for Los Blancos for £90.9m (per Transfermarkt).
During his time with the club, the 31-year-old Welshman made 203 appearances in which he scored 56 goals and assisted 58 for teammates.
He knows what he’s doing
— Wergwijn™? (@6ergwijn) September 16, 2020
bruh
— sander (@SanderHimself) September 16, 2020
While with Real Madrid, Bale has made 251 appearances in which he has netted a whopping 105 goals and provided 68 assists.
As explained in The Athletic’s recent report on the transfer link, the Spanish outfit may even be willing to pay around half of his £600,000-a-week wages to get a possible loan deal over the line.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail has since even gone as far as suggesting the move has been completed, with both Spurs and Real Madrid paying towards what is a year-long £13m deal for Bale’s return to north London, though there had been no official announcement from either club at the time of writing.
Do you think Spurs will sign Gareth Bale?
No, it won't happen
Yes, I think we will do
It’s happening based on that comment alone!!??
— Peter Francis (@franfam5) September 16, 2020
Just say it José
— Aaron (@Txttenham) September 16, 2020
As can be seen in these responses from Spurs fans, there was lots of speculation after Mourinho’s quotes emerged on social media.