Gareth Bale has made a massive call on his playing future.
With no World Cup to worry about, Bale’s summer was expected to consist of deciding on where he will be playing his football come August and, apparently, he’s already made his mind up.
The arrival of Julen Lopetegui at Real Madrid has led to the Welsh forward agreeing to stay with the reigning Champions League holders, despite being constantly linked with a move to Manchester United.
Bale was believed to have become so disillusioned with life at the Bernabeu last term that he was considering a return to the Premier League.
United were prepared to meet Real Madrid’s asking price for the 28-year-old however ESPN now reports that Bale intends to stay put and prove himself under Lopetegui.
Despite a terrific end to last season, Bale failed to convince then-Real manager Zinedine Zidane to trust him with a regular starting place but he is eager to prove his worth to Lopetegui, who was confirmed as new Real manager on Tuesday.
The Wales international came off the bench to score the deciding pair of goals in his side’s 3-1 Champions League final victory over Liverpool last month but he made it clear that a change was necessary when asked about his future.
“I want to enjoy this moment first, then rest over the summer and I’m sure we’ll sit down at the table and see what’s for the best,” he said after the full-time whistle.
“For me personally, I feel like I should be playing week in, week out and I haven’t been.
“I’ve been doing well, scoring goals, but I haven’t been playing as much as I would like so, as I said, I am going to have to sit down over the summer and seriously consider what we do next.”
If a change was what he was after, he’s got it in the dugout and Bale is keen to seize the opportunity to re-establish himself as one of the world’s top players under the watchful eye of Lopetegui.
