Gareth Bale has no desire to leave Real Madrid and is confident the Spanish club view him as an integral part of their long-term future, making any hope Manchester United or Chelsea have of signing the forward this summer appear remote.
Bale’s performances at Real have been questioned this season – he was heavily criticised for his display in Juventus’s 2-1 win on Tuesday night – and he has become the focal point for the supporters’ ire on occasions. After a 2-1 defeat at Barcelona in March, Bale’s car was attacked by fans at Real’s training ground. AS, the Spanish newspaper that leans toward Real, did not offer a mark on Bale for his display in that match.
In January Real fans jeered him for failing to pass to Cristiano Ronaldo in a 3-0 victory over Espanyol, a game in which he also scored; Carlo Ancelotti refused to criticise him afterwards.
Bale has scored 13 times in 28 La Liga starts and Real trail Barça in the title race by only two points. If Real can overturn Juventus’s advantage in next Tuesday’s second leg of their Champions League semi-final then on 6 June in Berlin they could become the first club to retain the European Cup since the competition’s format changed from a straight home-and-away knockout basis.
Manchester United attempted to buy Bale two years ago when he opted to join Real and are again interested in the Welshman, whose price would be more than the world record £86m paid to Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea also retain an interest, as do a host of other top European clubs, in a player who has four seasons left of the six-year deal he signed at the Bernabéu.
However, Bale continues to be happy at Real, viewing the 10-times European Cup winners as the biggest club in the world, and he has assurances that the hierarchy believe he is vital to their continuing success. In April last year Bale scored the winner in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona and he then finished his first season with Real by putting them 2-1 ahead in extra time of the following month’s Champions League final against Atlético Madrid, which Ancelotti’s team won 4-1.
At the end of March Florentino Pérez, the Real president, voiced his content with Bale. “We would never listen to any offers for Bale no matter what the bid was,”he said. “He is a unique player who has already given so much to the team. He is the key to the club’s future, just like I cannot imagine a future without Cristiano Ronaldo.”
United would seem to have more robust funds to pursue Bale than Chelsea. Should Louis van Gaal request it, then Ed Woodward would certainly explore any possibility of landing the 25-year-old and United's executive vice-chairman is aware of the particular political machinations at work at Real.
As United’s world record £750m kit deal over 10 years with Adidas starts this summer Van Gaal has ample funds to pay the valuation of around £100m Bale would cost should he be available. However, the Welshman has told friends that he sees himself at Real for many years and feels there is a reciprocal sentiment from the club.
United face a sizeable challenge in this summer's window if Van Gaal is to strengthen his squad in the areas he considers are required to make them credible challengers again next season. The club are confident of signing the PSV Eindhoven winger Memphis Depay, while the Borussia Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels, like the right-backs Séamus Coleman of Everton and Southampton's Nathaniel Clyne, remains a target. However, David de Gea is yet to sign fresh terms and Van Gaal admitted recently that he does not know if the Spaniard will do so as the decision rests firmly with the goalkeeper.
The 24-year-old, the sole United player to be among the nominees for the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Player of the Year, has been among the club’s finest performers this term and if he were to depart this would be a further headache for Van Gaal. Víctor Valdés, the No2, is yet to make his debut and so the 33-year-old former Barcelona goalkeeper is unproven as a potential replacement for his younger compatriot.
