Daniel Levy tosses some light criticism at Gareth Bale following his sale

If you haven't seen it yet, Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid have both released statements about the transfer of Gareth Bale to the Spanish giants. Tottenham's press officer told Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports that the fee is €100m, or a world record, surpassing the amount Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo. Following the announcement of Bale's transfer, Daniel Levy had a few things to say, and he sounds a tad bit salty.

The following quotes are from a string of tweets on Tottenham Hotspur's official Twitter account, emphasis mine:

'Gareth was a player we had absolutely no intention of selling as we look to build for the future. He is a player whose career we have fostered and developed and he was only a year into his new four year contract. Such has been the attention from Real Madrid and so great is Gareth's desire to join them, that we have taken the view that the player will not be sufficiently committed to our campaign in the current season. We have, therefore, with great reluctance, agreed to this sale and do so in the knowledge that we have an exceptionally strong squad. We wish Gareth all the best in the future and he shall always be welcome at the Lane.'

The piece of this statement that is going to get the most attention is the part that I put in bold. While I'm not exactly buying the party line that Spurs were willing to hang onto Bale until he made it very clear that he would not be committed to playing for the club if he was not granted a transfer, it's what the club wants us to believe and it's not entirely far-fetched.

In any event, I'm happy this is over.