Harry Redknapp doesn’t believe Jose Mourinho ever wanted Gareth Bale to return to Tottenham and claims the Welshman lacks confidence and needs to be treated with care to get the most out of him.
The latest round of questioning is about Bale and his failed return to north London after being snubbed for Tottenham’s FA Cup fifth round match against Everton.
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Bale has only started two Premier League games this season
Bale was left out of the squad of the day for Wednesday’s cup classic, which saw the Toffees go into overtime after a superb 5-4 game – one of the best games ever seen in years.
It was the last snub from the Real Madrid player by Mourinho, after the head coach made his senior debut to record 16-year-old Dane Scarlett in their previous Premier League game against West Brom at the expense of the Welsh international.
Former boss Redknapp told talkSPORT he had high hopes for Bale when his return to Tottenham was confirmed this summer, with the winger arriving to the sound of fan hysteria and awaiting the team in one of the deadliest attacking forces in the world alongside Harry. Kane and Heung-min Son.
Instead, he’s only made TWO Premier League starts, completed the full 90 minutes just once, and most of his 15 appearances have come in the Europa League and brief cameos from the bench.
In his prime, Redknapp says Bale was up there as the third best player in world football behind superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but he’s been a shadow of that number since returning from Spain.
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Bale has scored four goals this season, one in each competition
And his former boss admits he was disappointed with his treatment, saying he needs an arm around him to do his best, not the cold shoulder.
“At the time, I thought Gareth Bale would be an incredible signing,” Redknapp said during Friday’s talkSPORT breakfast.
“I could see this line before, Son, Bale and Kane, I was thinking ‘oh my gosh they’re going to scare together’ but for some reason it didn’t work for Gareth.
“I don’t know what the problem is with Gareth right now. He’s not the most confident of boys.
“I know he was one of the best players in the world, let’s be honest, there was a spell where for me he was probably the third best player behind Messi and Ronaldo, he was so good when he was at his better .
“But he’s still not a very confident boy. He’s one of those guys who, no matter how awesome you are, it doesn’t change his personality, and he’s a very calm boy. He needs confidence and he needs someone to believe in him.
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Harry Redknapp made the most of Gareth Bale during his first spell at Spurs
“Right now he’s had ten minutes here, five minutes there, when he starts he’s substituted, and when he’s substituted that’s it, ‘we were better in that last half hour’ after that Gareth is out …
“All the signals he receives [from Mourinho]…
“I’m disappointed with the way it turned out for him. I was really expecting great things from Gareth when he returned.
Mourinho claimed after Spurs’ exit from the FA Cup that Bale had not applied for an injury scan, saying he was “surprised” and that it was not an “obvious” problem.
Tottenham legend Clive Allen told talkSPORT this week that the manager is impatient with the player and frustrated by the constant questions about his place on the team.
And Redknapp admits it probably wasn’t his idea to bring Bale back.
Simon Jordan berates Gareth Bale’s ‘scandalous’ performance since returning to Spurs, says Welshman is no longer fit for purpose
“I’ve always said it, I don’t think it was Jose’s gesture,” he added.
“I would think it was done above him, maybe Daniel [Levy, Tottenham chairman] watched and that and he loves Gareth, obviously he was a great player when he was there.
“The people at the club tell me they got him back with a very poorly paid contract, they really don’t pay him close to what he earns, I would be surprised if they pay more than a fifth or a sixth of what he actually gains.
“They probably saw this as a great move, a great move for the club to see again and the fans are going to love it, but it just didn’t work out.
“At the end of the day, the manager chooses the team and he obviously doesn’t seem to like it, he doesn’t fit into his team.
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