Tottenham Hotspur offered Gareth Bale to Hamburg for around five million pounds, according to Martin Jol.
Jol was in charge at White Hart Lane when a then 17-year-old Bale signed from Southampton in a deal worth seven million pounds.
The Dutchman took over at Hamburg for the 2008-09 season, and has revealed that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy offered Bale in a cut-price deal after Spurs became frustrated with the Welshman's inconsistent form.
"Spurs saw Bale as a left back, but he probably wasn't the best left-back in the world," Jol told talkSPORT. "He was more creative, he had electric pace, so everybody saw that he was more suited as a forward player, and Harry Redknapp saw that later on.
"I saw his potential straight away, but other people didn't see that in the early stages of his career and that led to Spurs offering Bale to me when I went to Hamburg.
"We had to pay about five or six million, which we couldn't afford at the time. I then asked Daniel Levy if we could take him on loan instead, but at that time it was not possible.
"So, yes, Hamburg could have bought Bale for five million pounds because, of course, he was not playing at that moment. He couldn't get into the side, so Spurs offered him to other clubs."
Jol left Spurs six months after signing Bale, who eventually realised his potential at the club before making a big-money move to Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League and Copa del Rey in his first season.