Real Madrid may have serious issues finding a suitor for Gareth Bale

Although Gareth Bale started the 2019-2020 season brightly, an injury, combined with some additional drama, have made his present contributions to Real Madrid completely unclear.

Real Madrid tried to sell Gareth Bale this summer in order to clear out literal and financial space for younger stars, but they were unable to find any interested parties. Bale was coming off a poor season, so the lack of interest in an out-of-form 30-year-old winger (with injury questions, no less) was unsurprising.

But Bale seemed to want to prove himself again at Real, as he’s established himself as a club legend. He started to get back into Zinedine Zidane’s good graces, lifting the team with a crucial brace against Villarreal before being the lone bright spot in attack in a 3-0 blowout loss to PSG. Bale later supplied a few magical moments, including a classy outside-the-boot assist for Karim Benzema’s opener in a 4-2 win over then second-place Granada.

However, Bale suffered an injury after that Granada win during the international break, and he’s never played since. He looked solid for Wales over the November break in a 2-0 win against Azerbaijan, but the rumors continue to swirl about his exit. The media is trying to make it seem like Bale is choosing not to play for Real, even though the player has repeatedly said he’s injured and aims to give his all to Los Blancos.

It’s a messy situation, and it hasn’t been helped by Bale’s understandable comments that he prefers playing for his country. When Bale speaks, it seems like everything gets blown out of proportion.

The reality is that Bale has recovered some of his value this season, as he’s been good when he’s played. However, he hasn’t been great, which is the level of play required in order for a big club to show interest. And if Real want to get something in return for Bale, they need a club like, say, Manchester United to have interest, since only a club with sufficient financial flexibility can take on the Wales international’s contract.

Unfortunately for Real Madrid, it doesn’t look like this will be the case. Sources close to Mario Cortegana of AS state it is unlikely for Bale to move at the winter transfer window, and if he were to be sold in the summer, only clubs in China would have interest in the global star.

A winter move has always looked unlikely in spite of the rumors, and while Real have Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior, Eden Hazard, and Lucas Vazquez on the wings (with Brahim Diaz thrown in, assuming he isn’t loaned in January), Bale is still an important part of the squad’s depth. If he’s sold, they will be thinner and won’t be able to replace him in the second half of the campaign.

That said, Bale also doesn’t have a future beyond 2019-2020, so he will need to be offloaded in the summer. Rodrygo has been significantly better as a right winger than Bale, particularly in the defensive and goal-scoring departments, and he is the future at 18 years old. Bale is over the hill and no longer good enough to be a starting attacker at Real Madrid. Yes, Bale is still an effective player, but the standards are so high at the Bernabeu that he can no longer measure up to Rodrygo in the long or even short term.

At 30 and burdened by a 17 million euro salary, Bale is unlikely to pique the interest of competent clubs who have money. He can be an asset in leagues that want big names to increase the profile of their product, hence the links to China.

AS reports Bale is planning on leaving the club soon, and Real Madrid made their intentions to sell him known in the summer. But it will be difficult to find a club interested in taking on his salary, especially since he’s being paid like a world-class player when he’s truly been at the level of an average starter for a top-four club in a league table.