Manchester United target not interested in leaving Real Madrid

Manchester United have been served a blow in their long-standing pursuit of Gareth Bale after the Real Madrid forward insists he has no desire to leave the European champions this summer.

Jose Mourinho’s side are keen to make a huge statement signing this summer and were prepared to rekindle their interest in Bale after missing out on Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.

Reports had emerged suggesting Madrid would be willing to dispense with Bale after the Wales international was only named as a substitute for their Champions League final triumph over Juventus in his home city Cardiff on Saturday.

However, Bale, who has won the Champions League three times in four seasons since joining Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 for a then-world record deal, has rebuffed more suggestions he could return to England this summer.

“We are winning trophies and I am happy. I have signed a long-term contract at Madrid,” BBC Sport quote Bale as saying after Madrid became the first side to successfully defend their Champions League trophy.

“My family is happy and I am happy, so yes we will continue what we are doing. It’s the reason why I came to Real Madrid - to win trophies. We’re enjoying winning them at the moment, so we’ll continue to do so. Three Champions Leagues in four seasons isn’t too bad.

“I think we can get better. We are still quite young as a whole team and we have a great squad.”

Bale signed a new five-year deal in October keeping him at the club until 2022 but has struggled to stay fit ever since then and didn’t really play any significant part in their Champions League and La Liga double-winning campaign.

The 27-year-old finished the season only scoring seven times in La Liga, his lowest total in a single-league campaign since 2010/11 (also 7 at Spurs).

For more stats on Gareth Bale, click here to visit his WhoScored player page