Gareth Bale came excruciatingly close to joining Liverpool in 2007: Peter Crouch

Wales international Gareth Bale is currently enduring a difficult time at Real Madrid. The attacker remains out of favour with Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane and has so far failed to secure a move away from the Spanish capital. While Gareth Bale's stock in Madrid continues to plummet, his former teammate Peter Crouch revealed the time Premier League leaders Liverpool almost signed him in 2007.

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Liverpool Transfer News: Gareth Bale Liverpool links?

During a recent session with British publication Daily Mail, Peter Crouch revealed Liverpool were one of the parties who closely monitored Gareth Bale during his time at Southampton. Crouch, who was with Southampton in 2005 admitted that Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott generated a lot of buzz during their time at Southampton's academy. 

Peter Crouch left Southampton for Liverpool in 2005 and remained at Anfield till 2008. Speaking about the interest in Bale, Crouch noted that there was concrete interest from Liverpool in the summer of 2007. However, the move failed to materialise and Gareth Bale ended up heading to north London with Tottenham Hotspur. 

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Gareth Bale transfer news: Crouch notes Nottingham Forest interest

Bale spent six successful seasons with Spurs where he established himself as one of the best players in football. But Peter Crouch noted Bale initially struggled at White Hart Lane and was even linked with a £2 million move to Nottingham Forest. Peter Crouch played with Gareth Bale at Tottenham from 2009 to 2011.

"The young lad I saw initially had some confidence issues and had not enjoyed playing at left-back. Then, though, he started to find his feet. He got faster, stronger. His confidence began to grow and gradually all those special things we had been told about when he was a kid started to come true." wrote Crouch.

Crouch further revealed the time he realised Bale was a special talent after he scored a hat-trick against Inter Milan at San Siro. Crouch wrote, 'Maicon, the Inter Milan right back, looked like he had been traumatised by the way Gaz (Gareth Bale) kept running at him relentlessly. He tore him to shreds and it was proof that we had a galactico in our midst.'

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Gareth Bale transfer: Bale to finally leave Real Madrid?

Despite Bale being one of the most talented players at Real Madrid, Spanish publications report that Bale's time in the Spanish capital could finally end this summer. According to Marca, Real Madrid are preparing to offload the Welsh star for free with former club Spurs named as one of the interested clubs.

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