Gareth Bale was set to walk out of Real Madrid… now he is UNSELLABLE

It’s one year exactly since Real Madrid changed their mind about allowing Gareth Bale to join Jiangsu Suning. The Spanish club rue the decision more than ever in the current financial crisis and are increasingly resigned to it costing them right up until the end of Bale’s contract in 2022.

‘If Gareth Bale can leave tomorrow then even better,’ Zinedine Zidane had previously said in July 2019. He was told Bale’s move to China was imminent and would be waved through by the club’s board.

Tomorrow never came. Real Madrid were beaten in New Jersey, by Atletico Madrid 7-3, in what was the first ever Madrid derby to be played outside of Europe. It was an embarrassing scoreline and it played a part in the change of heart.

Real Madrid are ruing the decision to not allow Gareth Bale to head to China more than ever

The move was given the green light but then abandoned after Real’s heavy defeat by Atletico

That result, plus a belief that other players such as James Rodriguez could be sold for big fees meant that the Spanish club blocked Bale’s move on what would have amounted to a free transfer.

Zidane’s future also looked fragile at the time and the possibility that he would be replaced by a more Bale-friendly coach who could get the best out of the forward also encouraged Madrid president Florentino Perez to hold on to his asset.

As Toni Kroos admitted in an interview this week, the effect on Bale was anything but positive. He told the podcast Lauschangriff: ‘I think he originally wanted to leave last summer and that the club said yes to it and then they said no. I don’t know if he’s still a little upset about it.’

Zinedine Zidane’s (right) future was uncertain, another factor behind Bale staying at the club

Bale was reluctant to make the move but came around to the idea of being a marquee signing

Bale had originally been reluctant to make the move. But he had come around to the idea of being the marquee signing not just for a club but for the entire Chinese Super League and he was ready to pack his bags.

They were matching his €17m net Real Madrid salary. That money, doubled if tax payable by the club is added to it, is what Madrid will have to keep paying Bale until 2022. 

The decision to make him stay could end up costing them €100m taking into account last season and the two he still has on his…