Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has been promised that winger Gareth Bale won't be sold even if the club miss out on qualification for the Champions League.

Spurs lie two points adrift of Arsenal but have a game in hand against third place Chelsea next week; a potentially crucial encounter in their top four aspirations as the season reaches the sharp end.

After last season's failure to qualify for Europe's premier club competition, after their place was snatched away by Chelsea winning the Champions League, Tottenham were forced to sell Luka Modric to Real Madrid.

Real advisor and former legendary midfielder Zinedine Zidane said on Wednesday that Bale's £60m valuation would not be beyond last season's La Liga champions, following reports last week that Champions League football would dictate the 23 year old's immediate future.

Andre Villas-Boas and Gareth Bale
AVB will be hoping to hold on to Bale.

But Villas-Boas said: "The information I have from the club that was mistakenly written about last week is that the player will remain here irrespective of Champions League qualification being achieved or not.

"This is the information I shared with you all of the season. The more rewards, the more recognition the player has, the more media attention, but this club can only move forward by keeping hold of its players and next season for Tottenham, Gareth can be even more assertive.

"I would be extremely surprised (if he left this summer), but in football anything can happen," the Tottenham boss added. "It is impossible to predict. This is the assurance I have from the club."

Bale's performances this season have seen him scoop the Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year after a campaign where he has netted 28 goals in 49 games for club and country.

The Wales international has consistently stated his desire to play abroad at some point during his career, and with Tottenham's current ambitions not yet including a tilt at the Premier League title, Bale may feel his career goals are unobtainable at White Hart Lane.