Bale bids teammates goodbye

Tottenham take on Monaco on Saturday without Gareth Bale, who misses the pre-season friendly in the Principality through injury ahead of a likely defining week for his forecast world record transfer to Real Madrid.

The Wales superstar bid "an emotional farewell" to his teammates in London on Friday, autographing their shirts before they left for Monte Carlo, according to a report in The Sun.

The Spurs forward sits out Saturday evening's match, and may also miss Wales' friendly against Ireland in Cardiff on August 14, with a minor hamstring problem.

As Bale works on his fitness, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will sit down for his first face-to-face talks with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in Miami next week, possibly on Wednesday, The Times suggested.

Real are in Florida, where Levy has a holiday home, for a pre-season warm-up.

They are keen to see Bale at the Bernabeu ahead of their opening league game against Real Betis on August 18.

The 24-year-old is set to become the most expensive player of all time, an honour currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who moved from Manchester United to Real for €94 million in 2009.

Levy is reportedly holding out for a transfer fee in excess of £105 million while Real are looking to strike a deal at around £85 million with a makeweight, possibly Fabio Coentrao, thrown in.

On Friday, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger claimed Bale's proposed mega transfer made a mockery of Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules.

"It makes a joke of it. It's quite amazing that in the year where the Financial Fair Play comes in, the football world has gone completely crazy," the Frenchman said.

"You wonder what kind of impact and effect it has on the football world. It looks like it has made everybody worse than before."

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has revealed he told Real to sign Bale when he was still in charge at the Bernabeu last season.

Mourinho, who joined Chelsea in June and has since been replaced at Madrid by Carlo Ancelotti, told ESPN: "I asked the club to buy him last season but it was not possible.

"It looks like it is happening this season so I am happy for them because they get a fantastic player but, of course, the numbers are huge numbers and the kid has to go now and there's pressure to prove that he's worth that investment.

"I think he's a fantastic player and the way my Real Madrid was playing, I think it was an easy player to fill a space and to get into that tactical dynamic.

"I don't know what Carlo is thinking now but Carlo is an experienced coach and for sure will get the best out of him."