Gareth Bale to Manchester United is the assumption being jumped upon by both the Spanish and UK sport media right now, and with reasonable reasoning.
The Welshman’s latest injury brings his Real Madrid future into even more focus, and AS are one of several saying he’s now on the ‘exit ramp’ and patience has run out.
Madrid perhaps could have handled Bale’s injury situation an awful lot better. Repeatedly rushed back, Bale seems to have built up a whole list of related issues and the player and his club are paying the price.
That price could also be financial. With Jose Mourinho making no secret of his admiration for Bale, and hinting at his own transfer desire for Manchester United, AS say the Premier League club ‘could have paid’ €120-150m for the player in the summer.
It would be easy to argue the unlikeliness of those figures, even looking back to the summer, but, regardless, AS say the price for Manchester United now would likely be around €70-80m.
A much cheaper price and with Bale on the exit ramp, it’s all lined up for Manchester United. But perhaps AS are inflating the summer figure to allow them to inflate the value they now place on Bale.
Mourinho trying to convince his board to spend €80m on a 29 year old, as Bale will be in July, with a concerning injury history could be a Manchester United battle lined up for the summer already.
