Gareth Bale's Agent Effectively Rules Out Return to Premier League

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has no reason to leave the 13-time European champions, his agent Jonathan Barnett has declared, effectively ruling out a transfer this summer.

Bale has been based in the Spanish capital since a world record transfer from Tottenham in 2013 and has won four Champions League titles with the club. But he has been regularly linked with a move away from the Bernabeu over the last couple of years in particular.

The 30-year-old has never been a favourite of the Spanish press and has only served to wind up the local media by revelling in the running joke that he prefers playing golf than playing for Real.

‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order’, read the infamous banner he paraded in November.

Bale signed a six-year contract in Madrid in 2016 that runs until 2022. His massive wages, the equivalent of an estimated £600,000 per week, will make it difficult for Real to find a buyer, while the club also risks losing out on a transfer fee if he is allowed to run down his deal.

90min revealed in March that Everton officials had been discussing the possibility of an ambitious raid to sign Bale from Real and Wales colleague Aaron Ramsey from Juventus, all in a bid to equip new manager Carlo Ancelotti with players to fire the Toffees into the Premier League elite.

But Everton and others are likely to be disappointed if they make an approach. Newcastle are another ambitious side who have been linked in light of the Saudi Arabia takeover.

“He is quite happy at Madrid and has a very nice lifestyle. I don’t see why he doesn’t see his career out at Madrid,” Barnett told BBC Radio 4 (via the Telegraph)

The agent added that he has ‘no idea’ how much Bale is worth and that while his salary is ‘quite high’, where the player wants to be is ultimately very important.

Bale has suffered injury layoffs again this season and was actually an unused substitute for Real’s last two La Liga games before Spanish football was halted due to coronavirus. But the prospect of more game time at a Premier League club would not push him to transfer, Barnett has said.

“It is his life that he wants to lead. Financially he will want for nothing for the rest of his life, and nor will his children or grandchildren,” the agent explained.

“He has won everything in the world [besides] the World Cup, and he plays for Wales so that is something that is going to be beyond him. To come back to play [in England] would be a big thing and I don’t think he wants to do that at the moment. He is quite happy at Real Madrid.”

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