REVEALED - How Gareth Bale's 100 Million Euro Move To Real Madrid Broke Down

Gareth Bale's amazing 100 million euro move to Real Madrid has been the biggest football story all summer, and when the player was pictured lounging in a sunny Spanish swimming pool it seemed the final chapter was about to close.

Over the course of the last few months, the possibility of the Welshman heading to the Bernabeu for a world record fee has gone from far-fetched gossip to concrete reality.

Since late last week, newspapers in Britain and Spain have been reporting that the deal is now set in stone. 

Both clubs have been talking openly about the possibility of the transfer, and everyone appears to be merely waiting for the lawyers to finalise the crazy £310,000-a-week contract for the 24-year-old.

Bale appeared to be waiting around for the deal, too: with Spurs having given him the weekend off, he headed out to Spain - where else? - to soak up the sun and prepare for his unveiling by Real.

Bale was tracked down by a Spanish media to a villa in Marbella, and was snapped through a gap in the fence enjoying a pleasant swim in the pool.

The Spanish media have since been camped outside the villa in question, but with no more reported sightings it seemed clear that Bale had been told to stay put until it was time for his unveiling.

A time and date was even provisionally set by Real: 2pm on Tuesday, in time for the unveiling and subsequent interviews to take place before the Spanish evening news.

Yet reports emerging from Tottenham on Monday claim that at least one other club has made a bid for the winger.

Manchester City, Paris St Germain and Monaco are the only clubs thought to be capable of matching or exceeding Real's £86 million bid for the superstar - and though it seems nonsensical that Bale himself would want to choose any of those sides ahead of the Spanish giants, particularly considering that the six-year deal he has been offered is worth 97 million euros in wages.

With the world of football at his feet, Bale would surely not want to move to Ligue 1, no matter what financial inducements were offered to him.