Jose Mourinho rules out summer move for Gareth Bale

 Jose Mourinho has insisted that Manchester United are not in the hunt to sign Gareth Bale during this summer’s transfer window.


The Real Madrid midfielder has been heavily linked with an Old Trafford move this summer with the Red Devils looking to bolster their attack front.

United have been largely unsuccessful in their quest to sign a new attacker with a deal for Ivan Perisic far off from being complete. Inter Milan are said to demand fees of at least £48m, and this is still far from United’s £26m offer for the Croatia international.

Mourinho had highlighted last week that a deal for Ronaldo is ‘mission impossible’, and a reported asked Mourinho whether he shares a similar stance with Bale, for which, he replied: “The same [as Ronaldo]. You have contacts and feelings, you understand things, and it was clear that Bale likes Madrid, the challenge and situation. They are in a very good situation now and I never felt a desire for him to leave, so why waste time on it? No.”

United have been linked with the likes of Nemanja Matic and Eric Dier to bolster their midfield department this summer, but Mourinho was reluctant to give up the names as it would not go well with their respective clubs, he added: “Names is difficult for me, the players belong to clubs and are in preseason. The managers and owners are not happy if players talk about them — I’m the same.”

Bale had a tough campaign with Real Madrid last term shrouded by injuries, and this limited him to just 27 games across all competitions, scoring nine goals in the process. The former Tottenham man only inked a six-year deal with Los Blancos last summer, and he is ‘happy’ to continue his association with the European champions for yet another season.