Bale looks set to stay in Madrid after family veto China
Depending on who you listen to this morning there are conflicting views as to why Welsh winger Gareth Bales move to China fell through.
One says it was because Real Madrid President Florentino Perez could not bring himself to let the 30-year-old leave on a free transfer.
The other meanwhile, says that his family vetoed the idea as they are happy in Spain and it is only a two-hour flight to Wales.
At the start of the transfer window Perez was hoping to sell Bale for £80 million, but after finding out that no club in Europe wanted Bale due to his £600-a-week wages, Perez now had a dilemma on his hands.
Then out of the blue in steps Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning offering Bale a staggering £1 million per-week to move to China.
While Perez wanted to receive some kind of compensation for Bale, letting him leave would save the club just over £93 million in wages if you consider he still has three years to go on his contract.
That £93 million would have gone a long way in paying Paul Pogba’s salary if the club intends to try and sign him from Manchester United.
My guess is that the deal fell through because Bale’s family do not want to uproot and move to China.
Even Bale loves his life in Madrid with the near-perfect weather and excellent golf courses, yet the decider was the fact his wife Emma Rhys-Jones doesn’t want to uproot the children.
The pair have two daughters (aged six and three) and a son (aged one) and live in the very desirable neighbourhood of Pozuelo de Alarcón on the outskirts of the city.
The couple also owns a home in Wales that includes a three-hole golf course that Bale had built.
Following the collapse of the deal with Jiangsu Suning, Bales agent Jonathan Barnett, said that Bale would not be forced out of the club and would be happy to stay for the remainder of his contract.
Before this latest instalment in the saga Bale and Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane were barely talking even before the Frenchman took over again last March.
Bales agent confirmed this telling Le Journal du Dimanche: “It’s simple. Zidane doesn’t like Gareth. There’s no relationship between them. There never has been.”
All this, of course, puts Zidane in a difficult situation as Perez doesn’t want a £600,000 player just sitting on the bench and playing golf every day.
If I was Perez, I would be telling Zidane that I want to see Bale play and that leaving him out of the team was unacceptable.
One bright spot we can pick up on, however, is that Bale has been helping new signing Eden Hazard settle into life in the Spanish capital.
Hazard moved to Real Madrid from Chelsea in June for a staggering £100 million.
If we are lucky, they may have the chance to build a relationship on the pitch as well.
