Spanish paper Marca may have claimed that the winger was on his way to Real Madrid but the story has been refuted in the English press.
Under the headline “Real Madrid may want him but United may now hold the key to signing the Tottenham superstar”
The Mail notes:
Interest [in Bale] from Real is genuine, as indeed it is from United. As it stands, an offer is most likely to come from Old Trafford.
It is hard to see Real testing Tottenham’s resistance while Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the Bernabeu and it is worth noting that Carlo Ancelotti also has another direct wide forward currently in his squad, Argentina international Angel di Maria.
As we know, United have flirted with the notion of a dramatic and sentimental return for Ronaldo. Some people in football insist it will still happen. As time moves on, however, it seems ever more difficult for United to pull off.
More possible is that the Barclays Premier League champions harden their interest in Bale himself.
While Marca can often claim to be correct in their predictions, one could assume that Bale, being the earthy and grounded personality type, decides that his ambitions are just as well fulfilled by staying on the Isle of Britain. It is surely not unthinkable that he resists the overtures from Los Blancos and moves to the Theatre of Dreams. Ahem, that is Daniel Levy aside! The Notorious Negotiator is always just a sentence away from a shoot-out over transfer approaches on Spurs.
With United still trying to tie up a deal for the arguably more important role that Cesc Fabregas will fill, signing Bale would then be the Coup De Grace, fantasy football if you will where United could finally lay claim to competing with the squads of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Man City & Bayern. United were punching above their weight last season with the capture of the EPL. That is universally recognised, even within Old Trafford, but alas! There is no longer the Ferguson Factor! Should the Spurs man decide he does want to leave White Hart Lane but doesn’t want to move to Spain, we may just see another twist in the saga. Like Thiago & Cesc, another one to go on all summer and have you reaching for the single malt in the top drawer.