Hard for Gareth Bale to resist Real move, says Harry Redknapp

Gareth Bale will find it hard to resist a move to "special" Real Madrid, says his former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti has revealed that the Spanish giants are in talks to sign the 24-year-old Wales star.

"I think it'll be difficult for him not to go now. I think he wants to go if we're truthful," Redknapp told BBC Wales' The Back Page programme.

"He doesn't want to say it, but I hear from different sources that he really wants to go now."

There are reports that Real are preparing a bid in excess of the world record £80m fee they paid for Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in 2009, although no formal offer has yet been made.

But leaving aside the huge sum that Real are expected to bid to test Tottenham's resolve, Redknapp believes that the lure of playing for arguably the most famous club in the world is hard for a player to turn down.

"When you're a kid and you start playing football you dream about playing for Real Madrid," Redknapp added.

"When I was a kid I saw that great team of Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Ento, Alfredo Di Stefano.

"Real Madrid is a special club. The chance to run out at the Bernabeu only comes once in a lifetime, as [former France and Real midfielder Zinedine] Zidane said the other day, you can't not take it."

Bale, who joined Spurs in a £10m deal from Southampton in 2007, was named player of the year by both the Professional Footballers' Association and Football Writers last season after scoring 26 goals for the White Hart Lane side.

Listen to the full interview on The Back Page on Saturday morning, BBC Radio Wales and online 08:30 BST.