Coleman Triggers Transfer Speculation Regarding Bale

The substitution of the Wales winger during the interval of matchday Wednesday against Juventus has sparked fresh speculation concerning his future in the Bernabéu.

Transfer News: Bale will only leave Madrid for ‘giant club’− Coleman

The Wales star is undergoing a pretty rough season and had featured in only 16 La Liga matches from the very first minute. His injury-affected season has led to rise of Isco in the preferred starting line-up of Zinedine Zidane.

Bale was substituted at half-time interval in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, where Madrid progressed despite losing 1-3 (agg. 4-3) to Juventus, courtesy to Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic stoppage time spot kick goal.

Although Bale’s early substitution has cropped up fresh stories regarding his transfer, the player’s agent Jonathan Barnett claims that the stories are cooked up by the Spanish media.

Amidst all these speculations the former Wales coach Chris Coleman has said that Gareth Bale would join another “giant club” if he were to leave Real Madrid.

"How long has he been there? Five years, has he?" Coleman, now in charge of Sunderland, said.

"After his first year when I used to do the Welsh press conferences, they always used to ask, 'The Spanish press are not very happy with him, has he got a future there?' I think he's won three Champions Leagues there.”

"All right, he's done a good stint there, but the last time I spoke to him, he was very happy in Madrid, his family is settled there.

"Where does he go from there that's bigger? There's nowhere bigger, so if he does leave Madrid, where's he going to go?

"It's going to have to be another giant club."

The Wales international has been linked to Manchester United among other clubs despite his contract with Madrid until 2022.