Gareth Bale is attracting “a lot of interest”, according to his agent, but the Real Madrid forward won’t make a decision on his future until Wales’ World Cup fate is decided.
The 32-year-old put in an outstanding individual performance to fire his country into the play-off final for Qatar 2022 on Thursday, scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Austria.
Bale is out of contract in Madrid at the end of the season and is already free to agree a pre-contract with a new club.
However, agent Jonathan Barnett said that he won’t commit to a new club until after Wales’ play-off final, which will take place in June against Scotland or Ukraine.
“We have had a lot of interest in him, but we haven’t done anything. After June we will discuss what we want to do,” Barnett told the Daily Mail.
Bale’s heroics against Austria led to some harsh treatment from the Spanish media, due to the perception that he’s far more committed to international football than the club game.
One column called Bale a “parasite”, leading the Wales captain to write a social media post hitting back at “slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism”.
Bale is one of the top earners at Madrid, reportedly taking around £600,000 per week, but he's made just five appearances in all competitions this season under Carlo Ancelotti amid injury troubles.
“I have been saying for years he is one of Britain’s greatest, most successful sports stars,” Barnett added.
“If he hasn’t had the credit he deserves, it’s because he doesn’t speak much publicly. He is a quiet lad but I don’t understand why he hasn’t been treated better.”
Now read
RANKED! The best left-backs in the world right now
FEATURE From European champions to the second apocalypse in nine months – what happened to Italy?
QUIZ Can you name every England player to score at a World Cup since 1982?
