The agent of Gareth Bale has reiterated that his client is “going nowhere” this summer amid rumours of an exit from Real Madrid.
The Welshman has been a peripheral figure at Los Blancos this season and had been an unused substitute for five successive games before being left out of the matchday squad entirely in the final game against Leganes on Sunday.
Indeed, Bale has been in the headlines for his actions as a substitute recently – appearing to be sleeping during the win over Alaves while mimicking to be using binoculars from the stands in this week’s triumph over Granada.
There has been widespread speculation in Real Madrid transfer news that Bale is a priority exit this summer with the club keen to ease the pressure on their wage bill.
The 31-year-old has only scored two goals in La Liga this season and none since the 2-2 draw at Villarreal in early September, finding himself a fringe figure this campaign.
“Gareth is fine. He has two years left on his contract,” agent Jonathan Barnett told BBC Sport.
“He likes living in Madrid and he is going nowhere.
“He is still as good as anyone else in the team. It’s up to Zinedine Zidane.
“Of course there’s been interest but there’s hardly a club in the world which can afford him.
“It’s a great loss that he’s not in the Real Madrid team at the moment but he will not leave.”
A report from May in Marca claimed that Newcastle United will make signing Bale their priority once their Saudi-backed takeover is processed, although this has yet to be completed.
A subsequent report in Marca stated that Madrid were desperate to sell the player this summer but are yet to receive any offers.
