Gareth Bale might end up joining Manchester United after all as he gets frozen out at Real Madrid.
Bale got himself a new manager yesterday when Zinedine Zidane returned to the club he won three successive Champions League trophies with.
The 46-year-old left the Bernabeu last May but is now back in charge having signed a contract until 2022.
And while Real Madrid fans rejoiced at Zizou’s return, Bale may not have been so happy.
It is rumoured that the Welshman did not get on very well with Zidane, who is looking to bring in the likes of Eden Hazard and Christian Eriksen this summer.
Zidane will be heavily backed in the transfer window by club president Florentino Perez and could make Bale one of his first big-name sacrifices.
Bale is 29 years old, turns 30 in July and appears to have lost the backing of Madridistas.
The former Tottenham winger’s agent believes the treatment of his client by Real fans is “nothing short of a disgrace”.
“This generation of Real fans will be talking about Gareth’s goals for years to come,” Bale’s representative, Jonathan Barnett, said.
“They should be ashamed of themselves. Those fans should be kissing his feet.”
But given that more than 300,000 Real Madrid fans voted on the website of Spanish sports paper Marca over whether they should keep Gareth Bale with only 8% answering yes tells its own story.
Bale will actually be training at Manchester United’s Carrington HQ next week as he prepares for international action with Wales.
He has been included in Ryan Giggs’ 31-man squad for the upcoming fixtures against Trinidad & Tobago and Slovakia later this month.
But a sensational summer switch to United cannot be ruled out, especially given bookies have made the Red Devils favourites to land Bale should he leave Real.
Bale is priced as short at 9/4 with both Betfair and Paddy Power to be at Manchester United after the summer transfer window.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may end up having the final say on whether the long-term target does end up at United.