Gareth Bale edging nearer to Manchester United move

Gareth Bale’s exit from Real Madrid looks to be edging nearer, with Manchester United leading the race to sign the Wales superstar this summer.

And United have been handed a major boost in their pursuit of Bale after Spanish outlet AS reported that the Wales international has suffered a complete breakdown in his relationship with Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane.

Bale was omitted from Real matchday squad for the second successive weekend as he sat out Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at Real Sociedad, following his omission from last weekend’s 3-2 win over Villarreal.

As a result, an exit from the Santiago Bernabeu seems the most likeliest of results with a return to the Premier League on the cards.

In an interview with Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, AS reported over the weekend that ‘the Welshman is heading for the Real Madrid exit’, stating his broken relationship with Zidane as the reason.

“I’m not sure Mr Zidane wants him to stay,” said Barnett, who added “certainly is possible, if somebody puts their hand in their pocket,” when quizzed over a potential return to England.

Zidane refused to shed any light on Bale’s future following Sunday’s defeat.

Sociedad won with goals from Mikel Merino, Joseba Zaldua and Ander Barrenetxea after former Manchester City midfielder Brahim Diaz gave the visitors an early lead.

To make matters worse for the visitors they had Jesus Vallejo sent off in the first half for handball although Thibaut Courtois did save Willian Jose’s resulting spot-kick.

On Bale, Zidane said: “We’ll see if he’s going to be (playing) next week. He’s fine physically. We will see the next game and next year. It’s clear what I’ve done for this week.”