3 reasons why Gareth Bale's proposed transfer to China collapsed

Just a few weeks ago, Gareth Bale looked certain to depart Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, with Zinedine Zidane explicitly making it clear that the Welshman did not feature in his future plans at the club.

The 30-year-old spent the first few weeks of the window in transfer limbo, as no club made any major enquiry about his services. But last week the impasse was broken as reports emerged that Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning were willing to sign the former Tottenham Hotspur man in a deal which would see him net a whopping £1 million per week, making him the second highest paid player in the world.

Over the weekend, Bale flew over to finalize details of the transfer. However, fans got a rude shock when it emerged that the deal had been called off, with Florentino Perez seemingly pulling the plug at the last second.

Zidane seemingly doesn't have Bale in his plans, but Florentino Perez refused to let the Welshman go

Jiangsu Suning have gone on to sign Croatia's Ivan Santini, filling the CSL quota for foreign players. This effectively means that barring a shock bid from another club in the next one month, Bale will in all likelihood remain a Real Madrid player next season.

The fact that his coach wanted him out coupled with reports that he has fallen out with some of his teammates meant that Bale's departure was seen as nothing but a mere formality. Now, however, everything seems to have turned upside down.

That said, there are some plausible reasons as to why Real Madrid pulled the plug on the deal. Here, we look at three factors because of which Bale's proposed move to China fell through at the last minute.

#1 Marco Asensio's injury

For most of his managerial career Zidane has operated with a 4-3-3 sytem, with two wide men flanking a central striker. Heading into next season, Eden Hazard is guaranteed a spot on the left of attack, while Vinicius Jr would likely complement him on the other flank.

Real Madrid definitely have no shortage of backup options on the wings, with Marco Asensio being the most prominent.

The 22-year-old would have been looking to battle it out for a starting spot with Vnicius Jr. And his status as a Zidane favorite meant that he would have been guaranteed to have minutes on the field.

However, an unfortunate injury in the second half of Real Madrid's pre-season fixture against Arsenal put paid to those plans. Asensio pulled up with a torn ACL which has all but ruled him out of next season.

This is an unfortunate scenario for Real Madrid on many counts. Beyond the obvious setback of losing a key member of the first team, it also means that they find themselves painfully short of options out wide.

Most of the other options currently at the club are either young and untested, like Rodrygo and Brahim Diaz, or have failed to step up to the plate - for example Lucas Vazquez and Mariano.

This has thrust Bale into more importance, as he is arguably the only proven winger at the club other than Hazard.

Asensio's injury has robbed Real Madrid of an important player, and given the club's shortage of options out wide, it would have been foolhardy to let Bale leave the Bernabeu.

#2 He is a Perez favorite

It is no secret that Gareth Bale is very much a firm favorite of Real Madrid supremo Florentino Perez. Despite all of the difficulties he has endured in the Spanish capital, the Welsh international has always had an ally in the 72-year-old.

It was Perez' decision to sign Bale from Tottenham in September 2013 for the sum of £86.4m, making him the most expensive player in the world at the time. The construction magnate had a blueprint of building the future of Real Madrid around Bale.

This much was evident when he handed the Welshman a new bumper deal in 2016 which saw him net wages of £350,000 every week, putting him on par with Cristiano Ronaldo as the highest earner at the club. This did not sit well with the Portuguese.

Perez' refusal to budge to Ronaldo's contract extension demands was indicative that he saw Bale as more important in the long-term to Real Madrid. And as revealed by the Juventus man, this played a major role in why he departed the Bernabeu.

Despite the fact that his Bale experiment has not quite worked out, Perez is seemingly not willing to give up on his prized asset just yet. That might have played a key role in why he vetoed the transfer at the last minute.

#1 Real Madrid didn't want to let him leave for free

Bale's transfer would have been for free

So far in this window, Real Madrid have spent in excess of €300m to bring five players to the club. And while they might have gotten some income through the sale of unwanted players, they still have some way to go before balancing the books and funding any other potential buys.

In the current squad, Gareth Bale is one of the more high-profile unwanted players who can bring in a sizable transfer fee if sold off. But his high wages means that no club is willing to bear the cost of both his salary and a transfer fee.

Jiangsu Suning were willing to make Bale the second highest paid player in the world, but this would have come at a cost to Real Madrid.

Financial rules in China obligate the Super League clubs to pay an equivalent amount in taxes once transfer fees exceed a certain threshold. To avoid this pitfall, Jiangsu Suning wanted to make the transfer without any associated fees to Real Madrid.

This was a scenario that seemingly did not sit well with the Real Madrid board as they had hoped to raise some cash from Bale's sale. In the absence of that, they had no option but to renege on the deal.