Barca coy on Bale interest

Barcelona president Sandro Rosell is remaining coy over reports linking the club with a move for Tottenham star Gareth Bale.

Reports in Spain last week suggested Barcelona were stepping up their interest in Bale after sending an official to watch the Welshman in action against Fulham.

Barca coach Pep Guardiola is thought to be a big admirer of Bale and his ability to play at both left-back and as an attacking midfielder makes him an attractive proposition for the European champions.

However, Rosell is refusing to confirm any interest in Bale and believes the club could be priced out of a move for the former Southampton youngster if they did express an interest in the player.

"I do not know if Bale interests us," Rosell told Al Jazeera. "If I did, I would not say, because his price would go up. [Tottenham] would not ask for €40million [£33.2m], but €50m [£42.8m].

"In any case, even if we wanted him, we would never pay €40m for him."

Bale put pen-to-paper on a new deal at White Hart Lane in March that sees him tied to Spurs until 2015.