Thing is, I’m sure the club would do it’s due diligence on his personality and it would be pretty easy to do so - Giggs, Dan James, De Gea asking any Spanish players at Real....
its worth remembering the quality of the player amongst all that has gone down at Real and his injuries etc. If he were to come and stay fit, he’d be easily in the top 3/4 players in the squad, possibly even the best if he were motivated!
If we can’t get Sancho, he is probably the only player available on loan that would give us similar impact. Let’s face it, regardless of whether you like him or not, he’s one of the best players in the game.
it’s a 15m gamble that has very few negatives. The only one is would he disrupt the team harmony but again, I’m sure we’d find out those things beforehand.
This is pretty key.
Everyone here acts like we would offer Real 50% of his salary without ever speaking to Bale and the decision would be made irrespective of his motivation, fitness levels or desire to prove critics wrong.
That is obviously unlikely to happen. Ole is likely to speak to Bale extensively about his responsibilities in being a role model to younger players. He's likely to quiz him about his motivations for making the move (although if many people had the option of earning the exact same salary for not working as they would for working the very fact that the wanted to work would speak to their motivations). Likewise our professional expectations and him having to fight for his place; all of which he's also likely to speak to his International manager and colleagues about also.
If he's hungry to prove the doubters wrong and, at literally no financial benefit to himself, wants to fight for his reputation; as a short term, inexpensive and risk free option; then Christ I'm on board.
When you look at almost every other player we could or have signed they've done so, at least in part, because they will earn more money by moving to United. This transfer would be unique in that it's the antithesis of "mercenary"; he'd be working voluntarily and in a worse environment solely for his reputation and (presumed) love for the game.
If anything maybe some of our players who are likely to be demanding large pay rises over the next few years might see Bale challenging himself for zero personal financial benefit and realise that playing week in week out for United might be preferable.
This is all on the assumption that our due diligence comes back favourably of course.
What happened to our scouting department ? In old days if we failed to sign Ronaldinho, United would conjure up Cristiano. Failed to sign Shearer ? No problem, Yorke came and conquered Europe.
The sign of United having shit window is going after Real Madrid rejects and not pursuing real gems. Hope I'm wrong and this time we'll make some fair deals finally... or just get Sancho, ffs.
We've always had the Larsson's, Sheringham's and Owen's mixed in with the Ronaldo's and the Yorke's (although the latter was a record signing from a Premier League team so not exactly a bastion of scouting prowess).