Manchester United transfer rumour: Red Devils preparing world record £90m bid for Real Madrid star Gareth Bale

Manchester United are looking to make an approach in signing Real Madrid star Gareth Bale for a world record fee of £90m ($130.75m). The Red Devils have long been after the services of the forward and they saw their bid in the summer turned down by the Spanish capital club's president Florentino Perez.

The Wales international left Tottenham Hotspur and made a switch to Santiago Bernabeu in 2013 for a world record fee of £85m ($124m). United were looking to secure his services when he was at his former club.

Bale snubbed a chance to move to Old Trafford and joined Real. The Sunday Times reports that the 20-time English champions are still interested in the player and have already made world record bids in signing him in the last two summers.

Real were keen on holding on to their star player and even the former Premier League star was not looking to leave his current employer. The La Liga giants sacked Rafael Benitez on January 4 — who was appointed as their manager in the summer — and replaced him with Zinedine Zidane. After the departure of Benitez, doubts have been raised over Bale's future at the club.

The 26-year-old has publicly expressed his disappointment after Real showed the exit door to the former Liverpool manager. He said: "I had a very good relationship with Rafa, obviously it was a big disappointment to see him go. But things like this happen in football, you're professional and you get on with it and carry on."

United star David de Gea was a target for the Spanish outfit and his move to Real collapsed on the deadline day of the last summer transfer window. Despite the incident involving the goalkeeper, the English club's chairman Ed Woodward has maintained a good relationship with the 10-time European champions.

Louis van Gaal has already expressed his desire to add more "speed and creativity" to the squad. Should United manage to land Bale, it will strengthen their attacking division as the Welshman has already proved in England when he was at Tottenham. The Mirror reports United's league rivals Chelsea are also in the race to land him.

Meanwhile, Real's new manager Zidane has admitted that Bale is in his plans at the club. The Frenchman admitted the forward is the "key player" for Real after suggesting that he is aware of the player's disappointment following Benitez's exit.

"Gareth was disappointed with the sacking of Rafa because he was an important coach for him but I will treat him the same way Rafa did," Zidane said, as quoted by Sky Sports. "He is an important player and a key player for the squad. He's phenomenal and we're going to give him all the care and support he needs."