Gareth Bale’s proposed transfer to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning has been called off by Real Madrid, according to a report from the BBC. The 30-year-old is now expected to remain in the Spanish capital for the upcoming season.
Bale was set to earn an astonishing $1.25 million per week upon completing the move, but it seems that someone at Madrid has had a change of heart at the last possible moment.
That someone is almost certainly not manager Zinedine Zidane, who just last week said, “We hope he leaves soon. It would be best for everyone” if Bale left the club immediately. Zidane announced that Bale was “very close to leaving.” Club president Florentino Perez is said to have blocked the transfer as he believes Bale is too valuable as a player to let him leave cheaply.
Bale, who has helped to deliver four Champions League trophies to the Santiago Bernabeu in his six seasons at the club, has three years remaining on his current contract.
