Rohan Sengupta
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale would prioritise a move to Manchester United or return to Tottenham Hotspur over joining Chelsea. The Wales international has been heavily linked with a Santiago Bernabeu exit in recent months. Injuries have hampered the forward’s progress in Spain’s capital and a Premier League comeback seems to be on the cards.
Bale, 28, was backed to join Manchester United in the summer, with Spurs also said to be chasing the winger, who left the North Londoners in 2013 for Real. United boss Jose Mourinho publicly revealed his admiration for Bale, however, the Special One claimed a move would be ‘mission impossible’.
According to Spanish transfer outlet Don Balon, Bale, who earns $15m-a-year, has an agreement with Florentino Perez to leave Real in the summer. While the European champions are looking to offload Bale in the summer, they are still hoping to recoup the money they paid.
One option is to see the Welshman join either United or Spurs. The other is to sell him to Chelsea as a part of a swap-deal involving top target Eden Hazard. Spanish outlet Don Balon claim offering Bale to the Blues would lower Hazard’s cost to below £45m.
However, even if Antonio Conte’s Blues show an interest in a potential exchange deal, it appears Bale has other ideas.
The 28-year-old doesn’t wish to ditch his old club Spurs by joining a direct London rival. Instead, he prefers to join Mourinho’s United in the summer to continue his progress as the Portuguese manager has previously expressed an interest in the player.
The Red Devils are only willing to pay around £53m for Bale, despite Real demanding around £80m for their star man. Bale has struggled to impress under Zinedine Zidane this time out, with injuries halting his season.
The winger was an absolute superstar in the Premier League when he was playing for Tottenham and now latest reports claim that the Welshman could be on his way to the Premier League to join the Red Devils. However, the Spanish giants, who have been heavily linked with Hazard in the last few transfer windows, could suffer a major blow in his pursuit.
