Manchester United’s pursuit of Gareth Bale has been dealt a huge blow after a source revealed that the Welshman is minded to stay in the Spanish capital. The decision, reported by ESPN, comes as a result of the recent managerial shake-up that Real Madrid have conducted, with Zinedine Zidane leaving the Bernabeu earlier this summer. The Frenchman’s resignation was a huge shock, given that he became the first manager to successfully defend the Champions League a year ago, and helped Real to a hat-trick of titles just last month. This, coming after both Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo had expressed a desire to leave the club immediately after last month’s final victory over Liverpool added to the sense of disorder at Real, and it’s one that has only just started to settle down after the club’s president revealed that Julen Lopetegui would take the reins at the club.
Of course, that didn’t come without its fair share of drama, with Lopetegui fired from his job as head coach of the Spanish national side barely a day before the World Cup kicked off this week in Russia. But it’s a significant appointment for Bale’s future, as the report states that Bale’s future is now much less uncertain, with the former Tottenham Hotspur forward now minded to stay in the Spanish capital and fight for his place under a new manager.
This is a significant blow to United’s hopes of finally sealing Bale’s signature, but the landscape had already shifted after Zidane’s exit. Bale’s problems seemed to stem from the French manager’s lack of trust in him and frequent substitute appearances in big games, so his resignation removes the player’s biggest issue with continuing his career in La Liga. As such, United will likely need to look elsewhere if they wish to strengthen their misfiring forward line.
