Reports: Real Madrid willing to pay half of Gareth Bale's salary to facilitate his exit

Real Madrid are willing to pay half of Gareth Bale's wages to facilitate his exit from the club, according to The Telegraph. The 31-year-old star has been linked with a move back to the Premier League, with Manchester United said to be interested in signing him.

Gareth Bale was out of favour at the Spanish capital for the majority of last season, with manager Zinedine Zidane electing to deploy youngster Rodrygo on the right wing. The winger is on £600,000-a-week wages at Real Madrid, and the club are now looking to offload his substantial wages from their books.

Real Madrid will pay 50% of Gareth Bale’s salary to grant his wish to move away from the Bernabeu, according to the Telegraph 🤑 pic.twitter.com/9N3nxzNAWk

— Goal India (@Goal_India) September 10, 2020

Real Madrid plot Gareth Bale exit amid Manchester United links

Real Madrid blocked Gareth Bale's move to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning last season, forcing him to stay at the Bernabeu. The Welshman made just 12 starts in La Liga last season, contributing only two goals and two assists.

Gareth Bale of Wales in action during the UEFA Nations League

Manchester United have been rumoured to be interested in the winger but a move seems unlikely, given that the Red Devils are prioritising the signature of Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has elected to invest in young players with high potential as opposed to signing ready-made superstars.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Gareth Bale's recent time at Real Madrid has been far from what he would have wanted...🗣 @AlanMcInally believes that the Welshman is running out of time and needs to make a decision on his future soon! ⏰#OnesToWatch | @FootballIndex pic.twitter.com/YpDQWQCfkm

— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) September 9, 2020

Gareth Bale's former club Tottenham Hotspur have also have expressed interest in their former star but the Welsh winger will need to drop his wage demands if he wants to move to North London.

An exit from Real Madrid, however, seems like a possibility at this stage in the window.

Gareth Bale had described his relationship with Zinedine Zidane to be 'good' in an interview with FourFourTwo last year. He said:

"Our relationship was good. I wouldn't say we were best mates, it was just a normal professional relationship."

However, things have gone sour since then, with Gareth Bale refusing to travel to Manchester for the Champions League clash against Manchester City. Ahead of that game, Zidane had remarked:

"Many things have been said but we have a respectful relationship between the club and player. But all I’ll say is he preferred to not play. The rest is between us and him."