Gareth Bale: 'I turned down Manchester United'

Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale has revealed that he turned down the chance to sign for Manchester United.

Bale, 22, could have moved to Old Trafford from Southampton when he was just 17 years old, but he has claimed that the lure of regular football drove him to Tottenham.

"Man United were interested in me but I wanted to play first-team football. I thought I had a better chance getting that at Tottenham. The manager at the time, Martin Jol, told me he wanted me to go straight into the first team," Bale told Match of the Day magazine.

Bale has scored 11 goals in 34 games for Spurs this season.