Manchester United Linked With A Shock Move For £85m Start: Not Ronaldo

Manchester United were being linked with their former star Cristiano Ronaldo a few days back only for the Portuguese international to quash those rumours. Now, the Red Devils are rumoured to be interested in Gareth Bale.

Although it sounds impossible at the moment, the possibility of a potential deal cannot be ruled out as United are armed with the funds to do so. Bale moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 for a record fee of £85m, so it will take something in that region to sign him from the Galacticos.

Bale had a mixed bag in his 1st year at Bernabeu as he struggled to find any sort of rhythm in his game early on. However, he came to life in the second half of the season and scored against Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in the Copa Del Rey and UEFA Champions League finals respectively that won him the admiration of the Madrid faithful.

This season, Real Madrid have started slowly despite scoring the most goals in La Liga. The problem lies in their defence and according to certain reports, Bale’s work rate is becoming an annoyance. Real Madrid have conceded 9 goals, which is the second highest in the top 10 teams in La Liga and subsequently find themselves in 5th position.

Ancelotti revealed, “I only have one piece left to the puzzle and that is Bale,” which is an indication that he wants Bale to shoulder more responsibility when it comes to defending. In terms of what he is supposed to do attacking wise, Bale has had a good season as he has scored 5 goals and provided 3 assists in 11 appearances.

Manchester United were rivaling Real Madrid for Bale’s signature last year but lost out as the 25-year old wanted to fulfill his life-long dream of playing for Real Madrid and made the switch to Bernabeu instead of Old Trafford.  If United do manage to sign the Welsh international, which is highly unlikely, then Van Gaal’s biggest problem will be where to play him!