Agent: No Barcelona Bale talks
442 Staff - Thursday 14 June 2012, 10:42
Gareth Bale's agent has dismissed claims that he is in talks with Barcelona, but admits it is a ‘problem’ that Tottenham Hotspur did not qualify for the Champions League.
Spurs secured a top-four finish, their second in three years, last season, but will be participating in the Europa League after Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich in the final of the competition last month.
A failure to bag a place in the Champions League has seen a number of the club's star players linked with a move away from North London, with Bale one of those attracting interest.
The Blaugrana are looking to bolster their left side this summer, but Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett believes Spurs' asking price is too expensive for the Wales international and so the Spanish side will more for Valencia's Jordi Alba instead.
"I think it's too expensive for the club," Barnett told Sport.
"To my knowledge, the club [Barcelona] has not made any offer for him.
"If interested, they would have to put money on the table and then start talking. But it seems that the club is working on the signing of Jordi Alba, a cheaper option."
Bale only recently signed a new long-term contract with Spurs, but admitted towards the end of last season that he would be forced to consider his future should the club fail to reach Europe's elite competition.
And Barnett conceded that a failure to do so could be an issue, adding: "Yes, it is clear that this is a problem.
"The big European clubs already know how much it would take to do the operation and therefore if you are interested you know what kind of offer has to be put on the table."