Man Utd with decision to make as Bale sale talk gets louder and louder

Gareth Bale will be sold at Real Madrid this summer, according to reports in Spain and the UK.

The Independent claim Bale’s fifth season in the Spanish capital will be his last with Real increasingly likely to sell the 28-year-old in the summer window.

The broadsheet suggest “the end is coming, and senior figures at the Bernabeu are now privately admitting that they are ready to let Bale leave the club this off-season”.

They claim that the Welshman’s impending exit has filtered down to the Madrid press and yesterday it was a major talking point “across a number of club-friendly titles”.

Mundo Deportibo claimed earlier in the week both Bale and Karim Benzema will be sold, while Marca are also reporting that Bale will be allowed to leave by Florentino Perez, with 22-year-old Marco Asensio preferred to the injury-plagued former Tottenham man.

Bale has scored nine goals this season from 23 appearances, but he has only made 15 starts in all competitions and Zidane and Perez have both sanctioned his sale

With Bale left on the bench in Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Leganes, Zidane was asked about him afterwards.

“I am happy with him,” said Zidane. “We have to go bit by bit with him.

“What we want is for him to hit his best and we’re getting there.

“We’ll look at the matches that are coming up next and at how we’re going to manage them.

“We are good and in good form and I am counting on all my players.”

Publicly Zidane has said all the right things, while Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett claimed earlier this month that his client was not looking to leave the Bernabeu.

“Bale? I think he’s worth as much as Neymar. He loves Real Madrid and doesn’t want to leave,” said Barnett.

Manchester United continue to be linked with Bale, but Jose Mourinho is understood to be wary of a move for Bale after the collapsed pursuit of him in the summer.

Don Balon have claimed that failed chase for Bale still irks the Portuguese boss, who feels Bale did not do enough to force a move to Old Trafford.

 

Manchester United v Chelsea preview: Head to head record, predictions and odds.