Gareth won’t be Bale-ing out and not interested in Manchester United

Despite being linked nearly every single week to Manchester United, Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale has insisted he will be going nowhere.

Los Blancos are odds-on at 4/9 with Coral to win La Liga this season, and are one point clear of second placed Barcelona with a game in hand. Bale has contributed 14 goals over 28 games across all competitions to the cause and, following his 22 strikes in 44 last term, shown how valuable he is.

However, recently he has been criticised by a portion of fans for being too greedy on the ball and not linking up with his teammates, which has led to reports that he will be used as a make-weight in a deal to bring Man Utd goalkeeper David de Gea to the Bernabeu.

Commenting on his future, Bale told local media: “I can’t see myself at Manchester United. In an interview recently I was asked if I was happy in Madrid and I said that I was very happy here. I have a long contract still to go, I am enjoying myself and we are winning trophies. I want to continue doing this at Real Madrid.”

One particular incident that has led to criticism of Bale was the defeat to Valencia in the first fixture back after the Christmas break, when he could have played Karim Benzema in to score, though shot himself instead from a trickier angle.

“(Against Valencia) I only remember running towards the goal, I wanted to score but it didn’t go in,” Bale explained. “If I had scored against Valencia and Espanyol then nobody would have said anything. I didn’t see the pass and I don’t think it was so easy but these things happen in football. They are part of the play.

“I feel the support of the Bernabeu. I am going to continue working to show what I am capable of doing on the pitch and so as to win more trophies.”

Fans shouldn’t be too hasty however. It was Bale’s almost super-human solo effort that won them the Copa del Rey last season against El Clasico rivals Barcelona, with the Welshman also scoring in the Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid.

Real are 11/4 second-favourites to retain Europe’s elite club competition, and Bale will no doubt have a key part to play. He also stressed that the relationship he has with Cristiano Ronaldo was healthy and that the two “get on well”.

“There is no rivalry between us. We have meetings to talk about tactics. Normally if there is a free-kick from the left then Cristiano takes it and on the right it would be me. We get on well,” Bale continued.

“I don’t think I’m greedy. On the pitch I make assists and score goals. I play the game how I like to play and the press can say what they want.”