Spanish football side, Real Madrid, have put on hold Gareth Bale’s record transfer to China following a long spell injury to Marco Asensio.
The 30-year-old Welshman was expected to join Chinese Super League (CSL) club Jiangsu Suning on a three-year deal, earning a reported £1m a week.
Recently, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, said Bale was “very close to leaving” having fallen out of favour with him.
Bale joined the Spanish club for £85m from Tottenham in 2013 in a world record deal at the time.
Bale has three years left on his contract with the Bernabeu club where he has won four Champions Leagues, one La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, three Uefa Super Cups and three Club World Cups.
Bale scored three goals, plus a penalty in a shootout, in four Champions League finals for Real as they won the competition in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
However, injury problems have limited him to 79 La Liga starts in the past four seasons.
He played 42 matches for Real Madrid last season but was booed by the home supporters at times during the campaign.
It has been reported Real blocked Bale’s move as they are demanding a transfer fee for the player.
Real have also had their attacking options depleted with winger Marco Asensio set to miss the majority of the 2019-20 season after rupturing his knee ligaments.
Earlier reports suggested that Bale was poised to put pen to paper on a three-year deal with CSL outfit Jiangsu and earn a staggering one million pounds ($1.24 million) per week leaving Real Madrid following a six-season stint during which the player has won four UEFA Champions League titles and the 2017 La Liga title.
Zidane’s return as Real boss in March was described as “bad news” by the forward’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, because the Frenchman did not want to work with Bale and the two men disagreed on playing style.
However, Real president Florentino Perez has often defended the Welshman.
Bale ended last season on the bench as Real endured their poorest domestic campaign in 20 years, with 12 defeats, 68 points and a third-place finish – 19 points behind champions Barcelona. They were also knocked out of the Champions League by Ajax in the last 16.
