Gareth Bale must wish he was back at Tottenham, according to Andros Townsend, who says the exiled Real Madrid star will be wanting his "freedom" back after another frustrating year in Spain.
Bale has been heavily linked with a move away from Madrid after falling out of favour with head coach Zinedine Zidane in 2019-20.
Zidane left the Welshman out of his 22-man squad for last week's Champions League clash with Manchester City, claiming that the winger had asked not to be included.
Bale only scored three goals in 20 appearances for the Blancos in total last term, and was an unused substitute in eight of the club's final 10 La Liga fixtures.
Much was made of his antics on the bench during that period, and how he appeared out of sync with the rest of the group as they celebrated a 34th league title triumph at the end of July.
While on international duty earlier in the campaign, Bale was pictured holding up a 'Wales. Golf. Madrid' banner after helping his country qualify for the European Championships, and he subsequently became an unpopular figure among the Madrid faithful.
The 31-year-old's agent has insisted that his client will remain at Santiago Bernabeu despite ongoing speculation over his future, but reports of a potential return to the Premier League have surfaced in recent months.
Manchester United have been credited with an interest in Bale, while Spurs have been tipped to re-sign a former talisman on loan.
Townsend has dismissed the suggestion that his old team-mate is happy to remain on the sidelines and pick up his weekly pay cheque at the Bernabeu, while insisting he would welcome a move back to north London to escape the scrutiny he finds himself under in Madrid.
"I think if anything the Bale situation, he'd want to go back to Spurs," the ex-Tottenham star told talkSPORT. "The memories of Spurs. His happiness.
"He was the main man. He was loved. He was at the top of his game. So, if anything I think it would work the other way.
"He would be like, 'I wish I was at Spurs now and had the freedom to do whatever I want, to express myself and not worry about where I am now... where I get scrutinised for playing golf.'"
