Manchester United are concerned that they may be priced out of a move for Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale after being told that it could cost up to £320m to prise him away from the Bernabeu.
Bale came off the bench to score two times as Madrid won the Champions League for the third successive season on Saturday, but after the match, he admitted that he could leave the club this summer in search of more regular first-team football.
However, Madrid president Florentino Perez is known to be an ardent admirer of Bale and Madrid have allegedly set a £200m asking price for the Wales international – equal to that which Paris Saint-Germain paid for Neymar last summer.
The Spanish giants are confident that any sale of Bale – and perhaps even Cristiano Ronaldo – would help to fund their own ambitious move for Neymar, who is thought to be miserable in the French capital.
However, United would also need to match the 28-year-old's £650,000-per-week wages as he still has four years left on his contract, meaning that the price of signing Bale could rise to £320m.
The Express reports that the Red Devils’ boss Jose Mourinho is concerned the club's owners will be put off by that figure, mostly as Bale will be 29 in July and will have little resale value at the end of his first contract at Old Trafford.
However, United could attempt to use £60m-rated Anthony Martial as a makeweight in any deal, though they are disinclined to include long-term Madrid target David de Gea.
The likes of Chelsea and PSG have also been linked with a move for Bale.
This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago
