Man Utd refuse to give up on Gareth Bale and ‘still transfer option’ despite Tottenham heading race for Real Madrid star
MANCHESTER UNITED are refusing to give up on signing Gareth Bale – with Real Madrid still seeing the Red Devils as a potential landing spot, say reports in Spain.
The LaLiga champions are itching to get the Welsh flop – and his £650,000-a-week wages – off their books after being frozen out by Zinedine Zidane.
And while Tottenham are believed to be close to completing a deal to bring Bale back to North London, Real still see United as a potential buyer, according to AS.
Man Utd are keen to add some width to their squad after missing out on Jadon Sancho – with Borussia Dortmund holding firm on their £108million valuation.
But they could also fail in their pursuit of Bale, with Spurs said to be in advanced talks with Los Blancos.
Tottenham are eyeing up both a season-long loan move – with Madrid paying over half of his sky-high wages – or a permanent £18.5m transfer.
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And they look set to beat United to Bale’s signature after the player’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, confirmed Spurs are his preferred destination.
Barnett told BBC Sport Wales: “Gareth still loves Spurs. It’s where he wants to be.”
And Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who negotiated Bale’s sale to the Bernabeu in 2013 for a then-world record fee of £86million, is keen to make the deal happen.
Despite Tottenham being all-but certain to sign Bale, United have been given hope after AS claimed Real Madrid were still open to negotiating with them – suggesting Spurs had NOT concluded a deal.
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The Spanish giants have made it clear they don’t care which club takes Bale off their hands for the campaign.
The golf-mad Wales star is prepared to leave Madrid on loan this summer but is keen to remain on his mega £650,000-a-week wages.
As a result, both United – who could get Bale into their team any one of five ways – and Spurs hope Real Madrid will still continue paying part of his salary in a bid to ease their crippling wage bills.