Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has reiterated the club's stance that talisman Gareth Bale is not for sale, insisting that he has been given guarantees over the Welshman's future.
Bale has been persistently linked with a move to Real Madrid in the close season, with the Spanish giants rumoured to be preparing a substantial bid to sign the 24-year-old this summer.
Villas-Boas is adamant that Bale will still be a Spurs player next season, declaring that chairman Daniel Levy has categorically told him that the winger is not for sale.
He is quoted by the Daily Mail as telling Portuguese reporters: "The chairman said that we are not open to offers, whatever they are, and that the player will stay.
"In football anything can happen, but these are the guarantees given to me."
Spurs are yet to recruit any new players this summer, but a £17m move for Brazil international Paulinho is reportedly close to being finalised.