JOSE MOURINHO fears Manchester United will be priced out of signing Gareth Bale with Real Madrid set to put a staggering £200m price tag on their Champions League final hero.
The Spanish giants want to maximise Bale’s value to finance their ambitious attempts to sign Brazilian superstar Neymar from Paris St Germain.
And on top of any transfer fee, Manchester United would have to match Bale’s £650,000-a-week wages – he has four years left on a five-year contract at the Bernabeu.
If the Welshman signed on for four seasons at Old Trafford, it would take the financial package to an eye-watering £320m.
Mourinho, who is hoping to tie up a £53m deal for Brazil midfielder Fred this week, is understood to think those numbers will prove prohibitive for United’s American owners, the Glazer family, because Bale is 29 in July and would have no resale value as he moved towards the end of his contract in his mid-30s.
United would attempt to negotiate a lower fee and could also offer striker Anthony Martial – valued at around £60m – in a cash plus player exchange. But Mourinho is against trading goalkeeper David De Gea, who has been a target for Real for the last three years.
Bale put United and other interested clubs like Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich on red alert by saying he wants showdown talks over his future following his sensational cameo in Saturday’s win over Liverpool.
He could not disguise his dismay after being left out of Zinedine Zidane’s starting line-up in Kiev and wants more regular starts.
But the former Tottenham star, who cost Real a then world-record transfer fee of £86m in 2013, gave the perfect response by coming on to score twice – the first an audacious overhead kick that has been described as the best goal scored in Europe’s top club competition.
Former United midfielder Paul Scholes would love to see Bale at Old Trafford next season but feels a potential transfer is unlikely.
“Can I see it happening? No, not really,” said Scholes, speaking at an official UEFA Champions League Final viewing party at London’s Sky Garden.
“The only reason he’d want to leave Real Madrid would be if they wanted him to go. Could he come to United then? I hope so. Every United fan would want him: great ability, great talent, scores great goals.
“If it’s possible then I hope it happens. But I don’t see it happening.”
Fred flew into England yesterday with United hopeful he will be their player before he leaves the country in a week’s time.
The midfielder and his Brazil team-mates are in London for the week, using Tottenham’s training facilities as they prepare for next month’s World Cup.
Brazil will fly to the north-west on Friday, ready to face Croatia in a friendly at Anfield on Sunday, and that itinerary could fit perfectly into Mourinho’s plans.
The United boss wants to have Fred signed from Ukranian side Shakhtar Donetsk and the addition of Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld both wrapped up before the World Cup kicks off.
Fred revealed last week that talks were on-going with United after a possible January move to Manchester City collapsed.
And his agent Gilberto Silva, the former Arsenal player, was in London last week as talks advanced and an agreement drew closer.
It is understood a fee around £53m has been agreed with Shakhtar and United are close to agreeing personal terms.
That would open the possibility of Fred undergoing a medical and completing the formalities while in the north-west this week.
Brazil move on to Austria on Monday for another friendly and Mourinho has urged United’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to get the Fred deal completed by then.
Source:www.express.co.uk