Redknapp: Bale not for sale

Redknapp: Bale not for sale

Published Nov. 3, 2010 11:06 a.m. ET

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is adamant flying winger Gareth Bale is not for sale at any price following his destruction of Inter Milan.

Bale again stole the show on Tuesday night as he inspired Spurs to a famous 3-1 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League.

The Welsh wizard followed up his hat-trick heroics in the San Siro with a devastating display of power and pace to run Inter ragged at the back.

His performances have fuelled speculation linking him with a move to some of Europe's top clubs, with Inter, Real Madrid and Barcelona all thought to be keeping tabs on Bale.

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However, Redknapp insists Spurs can keep hold of the former Southampton starlet as they are under no pressure to sell him.

"As far as selling him goes, the people who own Tottenham are not poor people," said Redknapp. "They don't need to sell him

"I don't think Gareth needs to go anywhere else to play his football.

"He needs to stay here at White Hart Lane."

Bale himself declared he would never forget the historic victory over Inter.

"It was great," Bale beamed afterwards.

"It was special beating the European champions. It will be a night that will never be forgotten."

Bale was simply unstoppable last night, providing assists for Spurs' second and third goals in their 3-1 win which were every bit as stunning as his goals had been in the 4-3 defeat in Milan.

Once again, Bale tormented the so-called best right-back in the world, with Maicon reduced to what appeared a quivering wreck by full-time.

Long before then, Spurs fans were singing "Taxi for Maicon!" - something that did not go unnoticed by Bale and his team-mates.

"A few of the lads were on about it after the match," said the 21-year-old Wales star, who admitted he had never known an atmosphere like it.

He said of the supporters: "They were unbelievable. They acted as a 12th man.

"They have been fantastic all season and we capped it off for them tonight. It was a special night."

Bale was as modest as ever about the form that has seen him become one of the most feared players on the planet.

"I'm just trying to keep my feet on the ground, work hard in training and do well in games and enjoy my football," he said.

"I'm happy at the moment."

Bale revealed just how important his San Siro hat-trick had been for his and his team-mates' confidence after they went 4-0 and a man down two weeks ago.

"We all had the belief that we could hurt Inter and we showed that," he said.

"We were unlucky to go down to 10 in the San Siro.

"With 11 men on the pitch, we know what we can do."

Bale hoped Spurs' win, which moved them above Inter at the top of Group A, sent a statement out to the rest of Europe.

"We know what we are capable of," he said.

"We just have to produce it and we have.

"Hopefully, we will have shown people what we can do and hopefully we can go far in this competition now."

Asked how far, he added: "I'm not too sure.

"We are just going to take it one step at a time and not get carried away.

"We are going to carry on working hard and go as far as we can."

Victory in their penultimate group game against Werder Bremen should be enough to seal Spurs' progress and would arguably make them favourites to top the group as well.

"The most important thing is to get through," Bale said.

"If we win the group, it will be a major bonus for us but we just want to keep working hard and get through to the knockout stages."

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