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Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is fighting a losing battle in his attempts to keep Gareth Bale.

Real Madrid have lined up a full-scale assault to sign Bale this summer and will make a £60million bid - but the Spanish giants will have to do better than that if they want to tempt Levy to sell.

That's because, we understand, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain have all made it clear they are prepared to pay £80m for the Welshman.

Spurs would be reluctant to sell to a Premier League rival, but all five clubs would move in with concrete bids given the slightest encouragement - although they all might have to wait until next summer to do business.

Levy is standing firm and will battle to keep his star even after the 24-year-old's agent, Jonathan Barnett, moved the saga up a gear by telling a Spanish TV show that he and Bale were "honoured" by Real's interest.

It is still more likely that Bale will leave Spurs next summer than in the current close-season but intriguingly - even though there have been preliminary talks - it now seems impossible to imagine the Welsh flier will sign a new contract.

Tottenham know that even their proposed £170,000-a-week would not match what Bale can earn elsewhere.

Even though he has three years left on his present deal, the exit strategy has begun.

Real would be prepared to offer players-plus-cash to lure Bale this summer, and Argentinian striker Gonzalo Higuain is one man they would be willing to put into any deal.

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The Bernabeu club are clearly favourites as it stands, with football legend Zinedine Zidane, who works for his old team as an ambassador, rolling out the red carpet last week and insisting Bale should move to Real.

The soundbites have clearly made an impression as Barnett, talking on Marca TV, admitted that Bale is flattered, and is worth more than Barcelona's £50m new signing Neymar but is in no rush to move.

Barnett said: "If Florentino (Perez, the Real president) is interested in Gareth Bale, it would be an honour and we'd listen. But his contract is with Tottenham. We aren't free to talk with anybody at the moment, that's the point we're at.

"I can understand a lot of teams are interested in him. He's a great player but he has a contract with Tottenham. I don't know if there has been a bid [from Real]. What I do know is that the player has three years left on his contract.

"Bale is a better player than Neymar and he's demonstrated it in one of the best leagues in the world.

"I would imagine clubs want him not just because they missed out on Neymar, but because of how good he is. He should be the first option, we'll see - Bale is worth more than Neymar.

"Bale is very relaxed (about the situation) - he's enjoying a deserved holiday. He only wants to be happy and enjoy his football."

Who is better? Bale...

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Or Neymar?