Real Madrid transfer news: could Brexit force Gareth Bale to leave the Bernabeu?

Real Madrid and Wales star Gareth Bale may be forced to leave the Bernabeu because of Brexit.

In its bombshell report broadcaster ESPN claims that the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union could have a knock-on effect for Bale’s future in Spain. As a result the 29-year-old forward is a step closer to joining long-time admirers Manchester United.

Under threat

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Inexplicably, the Welshman’s plight hasn’t been discussed by the UK Parliament with Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn evidently refusing to be drawn into the possibility that a no-deal Brexit would place Bale’s career at Los Blancos under threat.

ESPN says it has spoken to officials at the British Embassy in Madrid and a no-deal Brexit would mean that Bale and approximately 300,000 other UK nationals in Spain “would need permission to live and work in the country”.

Hopeful

ESPN has also spoken to Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, who said they were playing the waiting game but remained “hopeful” that Britain and the EU would find an agreement for a smooth exit.

Premier League side Man Utd were first linked with Bale last year and it’s claimed that caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would like to bring him to Old Trafford if the opportunity arises.