Spain’s El Confidencial have regular Gareth Bale exit updates and there’s now two clubs who always get a mention.
Tottenham, for what would seem a very unlikely return, and Manchester United.
Bale has been linked to Manchester United since his Southampton days, when it was thought he could be the successor to Ryan Giggs and learn from his fellow Welshman.
It’s been going on so long that Giggs has since retired, been caretaker manager at Old Trafford, spent a big chunk of time out of the game, and is now managing Bale for the Welsh national team.
A move to Manchester United looks like a ship that has sailed, on the face of it. Last summer felt like the perfect opportunity, but Bale stayed at Real Madrid.
However, Jose Mourinho’s comments about being a fan of the player have encouraged things to roll on, and El Confidencial say Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett is well aware of Manchester United interest.
It’s claimed Mourinho hasn’t hidden Bale is ‘one of his priorities’, and a potential Anthony Martial exit could free both space and funds for the move.
Florentino Perez is asking for €120m which seems unrealistic for a player who has seen his star fade a little and who turns 29 years of age in June. But Perez’s big idea is that English transfer fee inflation could see Madrid make a profit on the €100m they paid Tottenham for Bale.
It’s hard to buy that, surely any transfer would have to be at around €80m or lower, unless Bale has a storming end to the season.
This story isn’t going anywhere.
