Harry Redknapp insists Gareth Bale is not leaving Tottenham

Harry Redknapp says Gareth Bale is happy at Tottenham Hotspur despite renewed speculation that Barcelona will launch a bid to sign the Welsh midfielder this summer.

Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale, right, is rumoured to be on Barcelona's radar, but Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp says Bale is happy with the Spurs.
Powered by automated translation

Harry Redknapp said Gareth Bale is happy at Tottenham Hotspur despite renewed speculation that Barcelona will launch a bid to sign the Welsh midfielder this summer.

Bale, 22, is one of the hottest young properties in world football after starring for Tottenham over the past two seasons.

He grabbed the world's attention when he ran Inter Milan ragged on two occasions last season and his reputation has improved this term thanks to a number of impressive displays.

Barcelona have watched him on a number of occasions, and this week Barca full-back Dani Alves said Bale would be a welcome addition to the ranks of the current European champions.

Redknapp, the Spurs manager, told a news conference ahead of Saturday's London derby at Queens Park Rangers: "No one has been in touch with us.

"He is happy here with us at the moment.

"He is a fantastic player. He will be linked with every club because he is such a great player."

Barcelona's players were heavily criticised last year for talking publicly about their desire to see Cesc Fabregas, the Arsenal captain at the time, return to the Nou Camp - a tactic many saw as tapping up.

When asked whether he thought Alves's comments constituted tapping up, Redknapp replied: "I haven't seen what he said.

"I would like Lionel Messi.

"I will have a chat with the chairman about Lionel.

"I will see if he fancies coming to Tottenham!"

Redknapp confirmed that Niko Kranjcar will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury. The Croatian midfielder suffered the injury in training last week and missed Spurs' FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea.

While Spurs are trying to hold off Newcastle and Chelsea for fourth spot, hosts QPR are in the thick of a relegation fight, just two points above the bottom three.

They have the striker Djibril Cisse available again after he completed a four-match ban.

Follow us