Gareth Bale's agent explains why lucrative move to China collapsed | OneFootball

The agent of Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has lifted the curtain on the player’s proposed move to China last summer which fell through.

It appeared that the Welshman’s time in the Spanish capital was up when he reportedly agreed to personal terms to join Jiangsu Suning.

That was for a three-year deal worth over £1 million per week and his representative Jonathan Barnett has confirmed that Bale did want to go, only for Real to pull the plug.

“Gareth got an offer that was impossible to refuse but Real wouldn’t sell him,” Barnett said in an interview with AS.

“The Chinese club then couldn’t pay what Real wanted as a transfer fee.

“Did he want to go? Yes, he wanted to leave a legacy and help make football shine there.

“He had a vision that he could help make Chinese football great and it was for a lot of money.

“It would have made him the highest paid player in the world.”

Barnett also responded to recent reports in Spain, notably from MARCA, that the reason his client has been frozen out of late is a breakdown in his relationship with coach Zinedine Zidane.

“That isn’t true. How do people know [Zidane] doesn’t love him?” he added.

“I promise Zidane loves him and so do the club. There is no problem between Zidane and Gareth.

“People write about that but I’ve given up. I don’t care what they say. ”

Bale has not been called up for Los Blancos’ last four games, despite being fit for their most recent three fixtures.