Bale to stay on at Spurs after Real admits defeat

Tottenham Hotspur has reportedly won the battle to keep Gareth Bale within their ranks after Real Madrid admitted defeat in their bid to sign the Welsh star.

The Footballer of the Year is set to sign a new deal at Spurs and is expected to be back at the White Hart Lane on Monday for the start of pre-season training after it emerged Real is ready to shelve their interest in the Welshman for 12 months and try again next summer, the Mirror reports.

Although Real has been publicly pursuing Bale since April, with No.2 Zinedine Zidane and president Florentino Perez insisting no amount of money Spurs could demand would scare them off, however, the report said that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has steadfastly declared that Tottenham has no intention of surrendering Bale to the Bernabeu side.

The report further said that Real has backed off this year as they are aware that Bale is much more relaxed than Real midfielder Luka Modric, who raised a hue and cry at White Hart Lane last summer until he got his move to the Bernabeu.

Since the Welshman has so far done nothing to force Tottenham's hand, the report said that Real has come to terms with the fact that they cannot force Tottenham into a position where they have to allow the winger to speak to them, as there is no release clause in Bale's contract to trigger.

Despite admitting that he misses playing in the Champions League, the former Southampton star has no worries about spending another season in the Europa League, the report added.