Wales manager Page on Bale: “Cardiff City ticks all the boxes”

Wales manager Rob Page believes English Championship club Cardiff City would be the perfect destination for Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale this summer in an interview with BBC Sport.

Page wants to focus on Wales’ World Cup qualification playoff on June 5 and believes Bale would want to keep that same focus as it would be Wales’ first bid in the tournament since 1958.

“It [Cardiff City] ticks all the boxes. Ultimately, it’s Gareth’s decision and Cardiff City’s. And I think he’s right to say ‘Let’s throw full focus on to June 5’ [Wales’ World Cup qualifier]. Let’s get there first and have that discussion.’”

“We can carry on talking about it and guess and have our opinion on it, and it does make sense. It makes a lot of sense. He can base himself at a training ground he’s familiar with.”

“Ultimately, let’s see what happens on the June 5 and I’ll probably be the first one after the game to ask the question.”

It seems this may finally be the summer where Bale departs Real Madrid as his contract with the club expires in June. Cardiff City finished in the bottom half of the table in the English second tier, but Page says he wouldn’t lose any respect for Bale if he decides to return home to Cardiff.

“If he was playing for and we had qualified for the World Cup I wouldn’t change my thoughts or respect for Gareth whatsoever.”

“He would definitely be a part of the World Cup squad anyway. As long as he is out playing football - that’s the most important thing for us. When he turned up in March, he wasn’t playing but he had four, five, six weeks’ training under his belt so he had that stamina inside him to give himself the best chance.”