Manchester United are willing to spend £100m on Gareth Bale and Real Madrid players want him gone.
That is the sensational claim made by Spanish journalist and pundit Eduardo Inda.
Manchester United have been linked to Bale ever since he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham in an £86m deal back in 2013.
But the Red Devils have never managed to get their hands on the marketable Wales international.
Now, it seems, United will be given a chance to snap up the forward as Bale’s Real team-mates turn on him.
That is according to Inda, who says he has been informed of the squad’s unhappiness with the forward.
Inda was speaking on Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, where he claimed Florentino Perez is aware of the squad disharmony supposedly centring around Bale.
It is claimed Sergio Ramos would have been the one to express the demands to president Perez, as the centre-back is captain of Los Blancos.
India went on to claim he knows United would be willing to spend around £100m on Gareth Bale in order to finally bring him to Old Trafford.
But the journalist ran out of assurances when asked when the transfer would take place.
Real Madrid could sell Bale in January, knowing UEFA’s recent rule changes mean that he could play for another Champions League team in the same season.
Bale not being cup-tied would be a coup for Manchester United as manager Jose Mourinho targets Champions League glory.
A summer move would appear more likely, although by that point Mourinho may not still be with the Red Devils.
The manager has endured a rocky patch over the past few months and was close to the sack before a comeback from 2-0 down against Newcastle last month kept his head above water.
United have spent over £350m on new players in the two years since Mourinho took charge of the club following Louis van Gaal’s dismissal.
As for Bale, there were reports earlier this year that Tottenham would be open to re-signing him were Real to decide to sell up.
But Spurs are currently financing their new stadium and have tightened the purse strings significantly.
Mauricio Pochettino was unable to spend any money in the summer transfer window and January may also prove a frugal month.
Spurs have instead focused on locking their top stars down to new contracts in the hope they will not be poached by more free-spending clubs, with Real being one of those.
Indeed, were Real to sell Bale they would be chasing a new striker themselves, on top of their efforts to fill the gap left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s £105m summer move to Juventus.