Gareth Bale to Manchester United appears to be gathering pace on social media once again, and will probably come to nothing as it has time and time again since his move to the Spanish capital. But hypothetically speaking, what if there is something in the rumours this time?
Real Madrid look to be closing in on the world record signing of Kylian Mbappe from Monaco, which would leave one of Ronaldo, Benzema or Bale likely to miss out on a starting role. Obviously it isn’t going to be Cristiano Ronaldo, the Ballon D’or winner elect. And Ronaldo seems to have a big say in Karim Benzema remaining a key player for the Spanish giants due to all of the unselfish forward play the Frenchman provides for the team, and Ronaldo in particular. Real Madrid don’t want any more controversy surrounding their star man, and offloading Benzema would risk upsetting Ronaldo further after the recent saga has gone a bit quieter.
This would leave Gareth Bale, of the ‘BBC’ contingent looking most likely to make way for Kylian Mbappe. The rumoured transfer fee in excess of a ridiculous £160 million for the 18 year old, would clearly indicate Real Madrid would be making Mbappe a key starter in their team. It’s a very easy transfer rumour that can be conjured up in the Spanish newspapers and on social media of course, but it’s one that makes absolute sense for Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho has openly been quoted suggesting he wants a ‘midfielder and a winger who can attack both flanks’ and Gareth Bale most certainly ticks the latter box. Being from Wales myself, I’ve had to the privilege to watch Bale in action every single game for his country, with the highlight being Euro 2016, both the finals and the qualification process. He is an outstanding footballer with all the ability needed to challenge for the Ballon D’or, given the right environment to flourish in. Similar to the Neymar and PSG rumours, Gareth Bale needs to be the main man in the starting 11 and have the squad built around him.
In his Tottenham Hotspur days, mainly his final season before his move to Spain, the team revolved entirely around Bale and he was almost given a free role to do what he likes. Giving a player of this calibre the freedom to create and score goals can be a lethal tool, as Barcelona have proved with Messi, and Real Madrid and Manchester United with Cristiano Ronaldo. The current Wales squad all seem to look up to Bale as the world class star that he is, allowing to carry his country as far as the European Championship semi finals, which is a quite unbelievable achievement.
Since his move to Madrid, he’s managed to win 3 Champions League titles, 1 La Liga, 1 Spanish Cup, 1 Club World Cup and 2 European Super Cups. If that’s not a winning pedigree that Jose Mourinho would welcome then I’m not sure what is. Gareth Bale in a Manchester United team crying out for a new hero like we’ve been spoilt with down the years with players such as Cantona, Ronaldo, Rooney, could take the club back to the heights of the Ferguson era, especially with Champions League football back.
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