The north London club are furious at the behaviour of the Spanish giants in sealing a deal for Gareth Bale, while they also allowed Mesut Ozil to join Spurs’ great rivals Arsenal
EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart
Tottenham are reviewing their partnership agreement with Real Madrid after being appalled by the Spanish giants’ behaviour this summer in the course fo sealing the world record £86 million signing of Gareth Bale.
The two clubs announced the link-up following Luka Modric’s move to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2012, declaring it would see the clubs “working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships.”
But the partnership has appeared increasingly one-sided, with Madrid doggedly pursuing Bale all summer before selling Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, Tottenham’s great north London rivals, for €48 on the final day of the transfer window.
Ozil’s move to the Gunners infuriated Spurs and particularly their chairman Daniel Levy, who tried to block the deal and made no secret of his anger with the Spanish club in a statement following confirmation of Bale’s move.
“Gareth was a player we had absolutely no intention of selling,” said Levy. “Such has been the attention from Real Madrid and so great is Gareth’s desire to join them, that we have taken the view that the player will not be sufficiently committed to our campaign in the current season.”
Spurs are now reviewing the relationship and could cut all ties with Real Madrid, with sources insisting they are not a ‘feeder club’ for players to move to the Spanish capital.
“Spurs have been bullied by Real Madrid and they won’t stand for it anymore,” a source told Goal. “They will look at the partnership and see if it’s worth it because Real have shown no respect for them.”
Tottenham fans this week launched an online petition demanding an end to the partnership, stating: “Since we have agreed to form the partnership, Real Madrid C.F. have treated us and our players without respect including “tapping” up Luka Modric and Gareth Bale.
“The transfer of Mezut Ozil to our top rivals in order to recoup money spent on Gareth Bale is the ultimate duplicitous action and we deserve a fair and mutual exchange between clubs rather than being treated as a feeder club.”
The partnership is thought to have included agreements on commercial tie-ups, pre-season friendlies, options on loaning players and sharing of coaching knowledge and expertise.
Spurs also have strategic partnerships with other clubs including Brazilian side Internacional, Hong South China in Hong Kong, San Jose in the United States and South Africa’s Super Sport United.
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