Real Madrid Put Bale, Five Others in Winter Transfer

Gareth Bale has been put up for sale by Real Madrid ahead of the January transfer window, according to reports.

The Welshman has not featured for the LaLiga giants since August and is not expected to extend his £600,000-per-week contract which expires at the end of the season.

The winger has not been a regular starter at the Bernabeu since the 2018-19 season, making just three appearance this term after spending the last campaign out on loan at Tottenham.

The 32-year-old has won countless trophies with the Spanish side since arriving in 2013, including four Champions League and two LaLiga titles.

But despite eight trophy-laden years with the club, Bale and Isco are the main candidates to be offloaded by Madrid in January, according to Marca.

Real have reportedly listed six players for sale, including Mariano Diaz, Luka Jovic, Eden Hazard and club captain Marcelo, ahead of the transfer window opening but have prioritised the sale of Bale and Isco.

Spain international Isco, 29, has also struggled for game time this season with just seven league appearances and is also out of contract in June.

Meanwhile, Hazard’s struggles at the club have been well-documented since his mega-money move from Chelsea in May 2019.

The 30-year-old has failed to score in his 14 appearances this season and boss Carlo Ancelotti has made it clear the Belgian has fallen down the pecking order.

Left-back Marcelo, 33, has been almost synonymous with Los Blancos for over a decade but he has made just five appearances with a total of 140 minutes for the LaLiga giants this term after falling behind Ferland Mendy.

It was rumoured earlier this year that Bale was considering retiring after next year’s World Cup, should Wales qualify for the tournament in Qatar.

Speaking on the retirement rumours, via the Mirror, he said: ‘For me it was better not to say anything and concentrate on the job in hand.

‘I never planned to finish. Like I said before, I just wanted to concentrate on the Euros and didn’t want to explain myself. I didn’t feel like I needed to. I still don’t feel like I need to.

‘No matter what I said I was going to do whether I was going to stay, leave, retire or whatever, I think it would have caused a big and annoying story and a distracting story.’