How much Birmingham City nearly signed Gareth Bale for | OneFootball

Birmingham City attempted to sign Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2009

Birmingham City almost signed Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2009.

The Welshman had yet to even feature in a league game for Spurs in which they had won, despite making 24 appearances in the Premier League at this stage of his career.

Bale had been utilised at left-back, and had struggled to make a strong impression in Harry Redknapp’s side, with the team coming eighth in the table in the 2008/09 campaign.

This led to speculation over his future at the London outfit, with Birmingham setting their sights on his signing after they gained promotion to the top flight with a second place finish in the Championship.

Here we look at how much this proposed deal for Bale almost cost before it failed to come to fruition.

Birmingham City’s proposed Gareth Bale deal

It was reported by the Daily Mail in the summer of 2009 that Birmingham were aiming to spend £3 million to sign Bale from Spurs ahead of their return to the Premier League.

It was understood that Alex McLeish was being given a budget of around £40 million to spend in a bid to remain in the top flight, and that around £3 million of that was being set aside to sign the left-back.

However, a deal failed to come to fruition as Bale remained at White Hart Lane beyond that summer, going on to become an icon of the club.

A move worth £3 million would have represented a major loss by Spurs if it had come to pass, with the Guardian reporting in 2007 that they had agreed a £10 million deal to sign the player from Southampton.

Of course, Bale went on to become a world record signing by Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, with the deal amounting to £85 million, per the BBC.

The Welshman was converted into a forward after remaining at Spurs, and went on to win three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues during his time in Spain.

Birmingham’s 2009 transfer window

While the deal to sign Bale didn’t come to fruition, Birmingham still invested in the side following promotion.

McLeish added the likes of Roger Johnson, Scott Dann, Craig Gardner, Míchel Madera, Barry Ferguson and Jay O’Shea.

Grégory Vidal and Lee Bowyer also arrived as free agents, with loan deals for Giovanny Espinoza, Teemu Tainio, Joe Hart and Christian Bénitez also being agreed.

This proved a successful haul of summer signings, with the team enjoying a strong first campaign back in the Premier League.

The Blues won 13 of their 38 fixtures, ultimately finishing ninth in the table, with an impressive 50 points to their name.

They finished just 13 points behind Liverpool in seventh, which proved the gap to European qualification that season.

McLeish’s side earned high points that included a five-game winning run from 21 November to 15 December, going a total of 12 fixtures unbeaten around this period as well.

However, their time in the top flight came to an end just 12 months later, coming 18th in the table in 2011, just months after winning the EFL Cup against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium.