Gareth Bale has been told to make the first move if he wants to seal a sensational transfer to Cardiff City this summer.
Wales’ record goalscorer is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, with his protracted Real Madrid nightmare set to finally come to an end. Despite winning every major honour - including three Champions League crowns - Bale has endured a miserable few seasons with Los Blancos.
The 32-year-old was allowed to join Tottenham on-loan last season, but returned to Madrid with the hope he could be involved as Carlo Ancelotti returned to the club. However, he has remained little more than a cheerleader and has played just 290 minutes all campaign.
But while his reputation in the Spanish capital is in question, his standing in Cardiff will never be questioned, with Wales on the cusp of their first ever World Cup campaign thanks to his exploits.
And ahead of deciding his next club move, the tantalising prospect of playing his club football in his beloved country has been teased. A move to the Championship outfit does remain unlikely due to his huge current salary, but Bluebirds boss Steve Morison has claimed the club would be more than willing listeners, if he initiated talks.
"Who wouldn't be? Is there anyone who wouldn't be a willing listener?!” Morison said in his pre-match press conference. "I'm not going to go and get Gareth Bale's number and ring him and say, 'Oh, by the way, do you want to come and join Cardiff?'
"It's an absolute no-brainer. It would be great. It would be a great boost for everybody. But if it did happen, he would have to come and be part of the change. He would have to come and fit in and buy into it.
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"I'm sure if anything like that was going to happen then me and him would have a chat because there would be a lot to talk about. One of them would be making sure [the press] don't find out about it!"
Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett has already confirmed the winger will be on the move at the end of the season and claimed he deserves special recognition from the club he joined for £85million almost a decade ago.
"Bale deserves a grand farewell from the club. And no, we have not yet decided on the future,” he explained to Spanish TV station Deportes Cuatro last month. Barnett then turned on his client’s critics for the suggestion that he has failed to adapt to life in the Spanish capital.
Bale, despite all of his stunning exploits, remains a highly contentious figure at the Bernabeu and was roundly booed as he made his first appearance in the stadium in almost two years, when playing Getafe on April 9.
"He speaks Spanish. What happens is that people who do not know him say that he does not. Stupid and ignorant people who have not spoken to him. It's a shame,” Barnett added.
"He has always been very happy in Madrid, he arrived as a young man, his children were born in the city, he has donated a lot of money to Spanish hospitals for Covid (a reported £400k) and he loves the city and the club and I think the parasites are the ones who speak ill of him.”
