"I did talk to United" - Gareth Bale explains the real reason Man Utd transfer never happened | OneFootball

Former Real Madrid and Tottenham star Gareth Bale has made it clear that he spoke to Manchester United about a transfer.

However, Bale never ended up at Man Utd, and he’s explained in detail why he went to Real Madrid instead of Old Trafford.

The former Wales international would undoubtedly have been a dream signing for the Red Devils during what proved to be a difficult period for them after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

As noted by Gary Neville on The Overlap, it seemed that United were at one point confident of deals for big names like Bale and also Cesc Fabregas, but Bale responded by saying he had his heart set on joining Real Madrid.

Gareth Bale opens up about Manchester United transfer talks

Speaking on The Overlap today, Bale explained that he spoke with former United manager David Moyes, but it seems he never considered the move that strongly due to his desire to go to Madrid.

The 36-year-old also suggested a key part of this may have been an informal agreement with former Spurs chairman Daniel Levy about not moving to a Premier League rival.

“I did talk to United yeah,” Bale said.

“But my heart was set on Madrid anyway,” he added. “And I had something in place with Daniel Levy, more of a gentleman’s agreement … he didn’t want to sell me to a rival also. He don’t want to strengthen another (Premier League) team.”

Gareth Bale had a great career at Real Madrid

Looking back, Bale surely made the right choice when he decided to move to the Bernabeu.

Bale went on to score 106 goals in 258 games for Los Blancos, and won the Champions League a remarkable five times in total, including scoring in two finals.

United, meanwhile, have not won a single Premier League or Champions League title since Ferguson’s retirement almost 13 years ago.

Bale may well have helped them, but it’s also clear that there have been major structural issues at the club, rather than just a problem of missing out on a few top players.