Sridhar Bhamidi
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says that his club did not receive any offers for Gareth Bale this summer, while stopping short of ruling out a future sale of the Welsh winger. He said this while speaking to El Larguero radio show (h/t TeamTalk).
It is an open secret that the Red Devils and manager Jose Mourinho are interested in landing the superstar. The United boss even tested the waters by doing some friendly banter with the club by consistently teasing Real that they wouldn’t sell Bale.
The Red Devils were forced to accept defeat even before their pursuit began, with Mourinho admitting it was “game over”, after the Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid. United were hopeful of engaging Real in a transfer discussion if Bale didn’t start in the Super Cup, but the Welsh winger started.
Perez says that Real received no bids for Bale although there were reports that United were preparing a £100million bid ahead of last month’s transfer deadline.
Bale has always maintained that he wants to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu and prove his worth. He has not always been a starter under Zinedine Zidane and with the emergence of Isco and Marco Asensio in the recent past, the competition for places has only gone up.
In addition, Bale has always found it difficult to earn the support of the Real Madrid faithful. The notoriously fickle Santiago Bernabeu crowd have jeered Bale on many occasions, leading to rumours that the forward could look for a move away from the club.
However, Bale has resisted such thoughts and has decided to stay put at the club for one more year before deciding his future. Madrid were keen in keeping Bale all the while, although there was a slight open argument this summer that he could be sold when they were pursuing Kylian Mbappe of AS Monaco.
The French teenager eventually moved to Paris Saint-Germain but the entire process left United interested because it meant that Bale was dispensable at Madrid.
There is no doubt that Mourinho will keep knocking the doors of Perez to check the availability of Bale. As and when he’d be available, United would be one of the first clubs to bid for his services.
