Bale won’t go on loan – agent

GARETH Bale’s agent has ruled out any loan deal for the Real Madrid forward as the Spanish side seek to offload the Wales international.

The 30-year-old is out of favour with Real and manager Zinedine Zidane has said the club are “working on his departure”.

“There will be no makeshift deals to get him out of the club,” agent Jonathan Barnett told Sky Sports television yesterday.

“Gareth is one of the best players on the planet. I can guarantee you he will not be going on loan to any club.”

Bale has won four Champions League titles since joining Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then world record transfer fee of €100-million (about R1,5-billion) but struggled to hold down a starting spot last season.

The interest of European clubs in a permanent deal for Bale is likely to depend on his willingness to accept a salary cut.

Chinese Super League clubs Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Guoan have been linked to the player in media reports.

“Gareth is a Real Madrid player and for now he’s staying as a Real Madrid player,” said Barnett.

“If something comes along that suits us then things could change and he could be gone in a day or a week. Or he could still be a Real player in three years when his contract ends.”

It is believed that Bale will scoop a minimum £20m (about R345m) welcome bonus if he becomes the Chinese Super League’s most prestigious recruit. It has also been reported that he will not leave Real for anything less than the £350 000-a-week (about R6m) basic salary he earns in Spain.

Sources say Bale is willing to uproot to China even though such a move would raise questions about his desire to play top-level football for the rest of his career.

He is not interested in returning to England and no Premier League side would offer the riches available in the Far East.

One reason Zidane is so keen to offload Bale is that he isn’t convinced the 30-year-old still has the drive to compete at the top.

But Zidane’s treatment of Bale has been met with a degree of surprise by some of the player’s Real team-mates.

His stint in Spain has coincided with a period of unprecedented success that has seen him win 13 major trophies in six years.