Gareth Bale looks set to remain at Real Madrid, a club that does not want him, after the board blocked his lucrative transfer to China.
The Wales winger had been expected to join the Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning on a three-year deal. That move is now off after Real decided it did not represent good value.
With the Chinese transfer window to shut at the end of July and the English window not long afterwards, Bale looks set to spend another season in Madrid. This despite having effectively been frozen out of the team by Zinedine Zidane.
Bale joined Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 for a then world-record fee of £85m. He has won four Champions League titles with the club but has been sidelined by Zidane since he returned to Madrid this spring for a second spell as the manager.
After leaving Bale out of a pre-season game against Bayern Munich last week, which Madrid lost, Zidane said he hoped the player would be sold. “We hope he leaves soon,” Zidane said. “It would be best for everyone. We are working on his transfer to a new team. I have nothing personal against him but there comes a time where things are done because they must be done.”
Bale had expected a move to China and reportedly agreed a three-year deal with Jiangsu Suning worth £1m a week. But the Real board, led by the president, Florentino Pérez, decided the fee was insufficient.
