Real Madrid target Gareth Bale did not report to Tottenham's training ground on Tuesday morning.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said on Sunday that he expected Bale to be back in London on Tuesday after giving the forward the weekend off.

Unlike the rest of his team-mates, the Welshman did not turn up for training at the club’s training ground in Enfield on Tuesday morning, however.

Sources in Bale’s camp played down suggestions that the player has become “furious and frustrated” with Tottenham’s handling of his proposed world-record transfer to Real Madrid.

Yet it is clear that all three parties involved did not expect the saga to drag on for this long.

Real first indicated their interest in Bale two months ago, but, with less than a week left of the transfer window, the 24-year-old remains a Spurs player.

Madrid were so confident of signing Bale that they started selling replica shirts with his name on the back last week.

Real also erected a stage at the Bernabeu as part of a big plan by president Florentino Perez to unveil the player at the home of the nine-time European champions.

That unveiling was supposed to take place today, two days before Bale was scheduled to turn out for the Spanish giants in a friendly against Deportivo La Coruna.

But Real’s actions have only served to delay the Welshman’s transfer to the Spanish capital.

It is beleived that Tottenham have become increasingly annoyed with Real’s tactics this summer.

The two clubs forged a supposed partnership last summer following the sale of Luka Modric, but the Bale shirt sales and the construction of the stage inside the Bernabeu have annoyed Spurs chairman Daniel Levy greatly.

Although Bale has his heart set on a move to Real, it emerged on Monday that Tottenham are considering at least one more offer for the player.