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The one reason Gareth Bale may actually end up at Manchester United this summer - Burley
GARETH BALE may end up at Manchester United because they can offer one thing a lot of other clubs cannot.
That is according to ESPN FC pundit and former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley.
Real Madrid want to sell Gareth Bale this summer as Zinedine Zidane looks to overhaul his squad.
But the Wales international is keen on staying at the Bernabeu, which has been reiterated by his agent Jonathan Barnett.
Bale earns a reported £350,000-a-week after tax at Real, making him one of the best-paid players on the planet.
At the moment it’s not a team in great shape but it’s a club that can afford wages
Manchester United have had a long-standing interest in the 29-year-old, ever since he was at Tottenham.
But despite reports saying they are not keen on Bale this summer, Burley says there are not many clubs other than United who could afford him.
“I think one of the main reasons that Man United is mentioned, one it’s a big club,” Burley said.
“At the moment it’s not a team in great shape but it’s a club that can afford wages.
“And I think that is an issue for a lot of [other clubs]. “
Meanwhile, ESPN reporter Sid Lowe says Barnett has kept the door open for United if indeed they wanted Bale.
“As soon as you’re in a position where everyone knows you want to sell, the recuperation of that money becomes more difficult,” Lowe said.
“In the case of Bale, it’s very difficult for Real Madrid.
“Bale’s agent is saying repeatedly ‘he doesn’t want to go anywhere, he’s happy where he is’.
“The change here is that slight opening of the door to Manchester United.
“For what it’s worth, he’s asked directly about United endlessly and so in a way it’s like ‘well let’s keep this idea there’.
“But of course their narrative and their sort of stock response is ‘we’re not going anywhere’.
“There’s no doubt this is a long game and there’s no doubt this is about trying to condition the market, rather than definitively saying no to the market.”