Banking on Bale

Real Madrid isn't just making moves on the pitch, where Ancelotti is now firmly installed in the hotseat and preparing for his first game in charge, against Bournemouth. It is also getting down to business off it, where the top priority has become raising funds for a possible Bale offensive later down the line.

'Los Blancos' are bracing themselves for a very welcome and, to a certain extent unexpected, windfall. With Manchester United in the frame to sign Ezequiel Garay from Benfica for ¤20 million, Real Madrid stands to net a cool ¤10 million from the deal, as it owns 50% of the defender's rights.

Not too shabby indeed. This comes on top of the ¤4.4 million Real has already banked by virtue of a sell-on clause for Álvaro Negredo, for whom City recently paid Sevilla ¤25 million, and the ¤21 million recouped from the sales of Callejón and Albiol to Napoli.

Together, this makes ¤25.4 million – ¤35 million if the Garay move goes ahead – but the club wants more. It hopes to offload one or two high-profile names – Higuaín and Coentrao are prime contenders – in order to take its transfer kitty towards ¤100 million. A sum that would be more than enough to test Tottenham's resolve to hold on to Bale.