Gareth Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, has dismissed the possibility of the Real Madrid forward leaving and returning to the Premier League.
The 30-year-old has enjoyed great success with the Spanish giants since joining them in 2013, winning a La Liga title, four Champions League trophies and a whole host of other silverware.
In that time, he’s also bagged 105 goals and 67 assists in 249 appearances, but his spell at the Bernabeu has also been blighted by injury problems and inconsistency as he has come under fire from Real Madrid fans and pundits alike.
With his current contract running until 2022 though, his agent has suggested that he has no intention of leaving the Spanish capital and would even be open to seeing out his playing career with Los Blancos.
Whether or not that materialises remains to be seen, but as he notes, his salary is high and so it’s questionable if any clubs would be in a position to meet the demands.
“I have no idea what his value is. His salary is quite high and also where he wants to go is very important in his life. I can’t put a figure on it,” Barnett told Radio 4. “It’s for the clubs to decide what they want to pay for him.
“As I’ve always said, he’s quite happy at Madrid. He has a very nice lifestyle, I don’t see why he wouldn’t see his career out in Madrid probably.
“It’s his life that he wants to lead. Financially he will want enough for the rest of his life and all his children and grandchildren. He’s won nearly everything in the world except the World Cup. To come back and play [in the Premier League] would be a big thing but I don’t think he wants to do that at the moment as he’s quite happy to play at Real Madrid.”
Those comments could perhaps risk sparking a reaction from some Real Madrid fans, as it gives the impression that it’s more about Bale’s lifestyle and money now rather than the ambition to win more trophies.
That said, it’s hard to argue if a player is looking to set his family up for generations as that is a huge part of their objective during a small window in their playing career.
Time will tell if Bale remains and for how long, but as far as Barnett and the Welshman himself are concerned, it seems as though they are in no hurry at all to move on.