LONDON - Just four years ago Gareth Bale was considered a jinx and a flop, and faced being offloaded on the cheap by Tottenham. Failing to live up to expectations, the disillusioned gangly teenager endured more than 1,500 minutes on the pitch across 28 months before finally featuring on a winning side in the Premier League for Tottenham. Fast forward to 2013 and the now-muscular, speedy 24-year-old Bale is one of European footballs most potent attacking forces and the most sought-after asset in the summer transfer window. He could also be on the verge of becoming the worlds most expensive footballer. Real Madrid appears to be leading the chase for Bale, who would be emulating Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham in leaving the Premier League to become the Spanish clubs latest Galactico. "Real Madrids fans will be purring at the thought of having possibly him and Ronaldo in the same team," said former Tottenham player and manager Glenn Hoddle. "They can go back and challenge the world again." To prize Bale away from north London, however, Madrid is likely to have to improve on the world-record fee of 93.9 million euros (then $131 million) it paid Manchester United for Ronaldo in 2009. British and Spanish media have reported that Madrid has offered 100 million euros for Bale, although neither Tottenham nor Madrid has publicly commented on the bid. Although Tottenhams public posturing has seen a "not for sale" sign officially left dangling over Bale during the summer, it would be hard for the north London club to reject such a hefty wad of cash and retain a player agitating to join a team challenging for top titles. Because, for all the mesmerizing footwork on the ball, eye-catching goals from free kicks and defence-splitting surges, Bale doesnt have a single winners medal for show for his six years at Tottenham. Bale, who has not commented on the speculation, reported to training as usual at Tottenham on Wednesday, and Hoddle is among the many current and former players hoping he will be staying with Spurs for one more season. "I just sense that maybe he might go for the wrong reasons," said former Tottenham player and manager Glenn Hoddle. "If he wants to go just for football reasons I think it might be better in a years time or maybe two years time." It was in May 2007 that Tottenham paid just 5 million pounds (then $8 million) to bring the 17-year-old Bale from Southampton, the south-coast club then playing in the second tier. Although he scored three times in his first four starts, a series of injuries stymied his progress and he went on that frustrating run, becoming a symbol of poor results until emerging as a substitute 84 minutes into his 25th Premier League game — a 5-0 rout of Burnley. Since then, Bale has never looked back. Neither has Tottenham, which at one point was reported to have tried to use Bale as a make-weight in deals to bring in new players. After shaking off his substitutes role in January 2010, Bale began to consistently show the flair and pace that displaced left back Benoit Assou-Ekotto from the starting line-up. And, as the attacking side of Bales game began to flourish, then-manager Harry Reddknapp pushed Bale onto the left wing. Having helped to steer Tottenham into the Champions League for the first time in May 2010, Bale was rewarded with a lucrative new deal — the first of three successive annual contract upgrades. Bale announced himself to the world with two dazzling displays against Champions League holder Inter Milan in the group stage in the 2010-11 season, including a hat trick at the San Siro. As Tottenham fought off interest from rival teams, Bale was named the 2011 player of the year in England by his footballing peers. But Bale has begun to outgrow Tottenham, with the team failing to return to the Champions League despite his goal-scoring prowess and searing pace. His importance to the team was underscored last season by the fact his 21 leagues goals, many from being deployed in a more central position, helped win 22 points for Spurs, although they still finished a place outside of the top four. With his national team Wales unlikely to qualify for a major tournament, it is at club level where Bale will have to make his mark like compatriot Ryan Giggs. "He is such an exciting player, but more than that, he has a good attitude as well," Giggs said recently. "He can go far in the game." Named English footballs player of the year by his fellow professionals and journalists last season, Bale appears to be preparing the groundwork for the enhanced fame that a move to Madrid would bring. Earlier this year, he filed an application to trademark his goal celebration, a heart-shaped hand gesture he dedicates to his long-time girlfriend, to use on merchandise. But while Bale is the superstar at Tottenham, he could find himself in the shadow of Ronaldo in the Spanish capital if he didnt make an immediate impact. "When you go abroad the first four, five, six months could be difficult for him to regain that form," Hoddle said. Discount Shoes Australia . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Balenciaga Shoes Australia .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. 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Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Call of Duty publisher Activision is exploring options to potentially discontinue its online Call of Duty World League competition and launch an offline league to begin in the spring of next year.The publishers esports division held a conference call with many of its 2016 World League owners on Tuesday and proposed these competitive changes, multiple sources who participated in the call told ESPN.Led by Kevin Flynn, the Call of Duty World Leagues senior manager of esports, Activision told teams that it would like to discontinue the competitions that were hosted on the PlayStation Network service in 2016. Instead, upon the release of its upcoming title -- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare -- Activision would like to run consistent offline events through the winter and early spring, awarding circuit points depending on a teams placement.Activision also proposed during the call that beginning sometime in March or April, it would like to host what it tentatively referred to as the Global Super Bowl, an offline league consisting of roughly 16 teams (10 from North America, four or five from Europe, and one or two from Australia and New Zealand) based on rewarded circuit points to take place at the Major League Gaming Arena in Columbus, Ohio.Activision Blizzard, a conglomerate of the two game development and publishing titans, purchased Major League Gaming and the companys assets on Jan. 4.Activision said if it goes through with this plan, it will provide housing annd relocation costs for all teams who participate.dddddddddddd In between the splits of this proposed league, similar to the previous Call of Duty World League online competition, there will be a midseason transfer period.Activision did not provide insight into the visa approval process that European and Oceanic competitors would have to go through to compete in this league. Traditionally, since December 2013, esports athletes wanting to compete in the United States regularly have applied and obtained P-1A internationally recognized athletes visas.The proposal of changes comes after the Call of Duty World League system brought new challenges to the tournament structure. Occasionally, the PlayStation Network would crash for hours on end, causing matches to be canceled or rescheduled.Should it choose to finalize these changes, Activision will join the growing list of publishers or leagues to host offline tournaments instead of online events. League of Legends developer and publisher Riot Games began its offline league, the League Championship Series, in 2013 to much fanfare, moving each team to Santa Monica, California, and Cologne, Germany. Additionally, Turner Broadcasting launched ELeague, an offline Counter-Strike: Global Offensive televised league, in 2016.Activision did not respond to a request for comment on this article. ' ' '