Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale's agent rubbishes reports of Manchester United transfer

Gareth Bale's agent has brushed aside rumours linking the Welshman with a move to Manchester United. There was speculation that Bale would return to the Premier League as Real Madrid look to recoup funds for the world record transfer of Kylian Mbappe from Monaco.

The 12-time European champions are keen on bringing Mbappe to Santiago Bernabeu in the summer transfer window. They have already allowed James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata to leave the club as they joined Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively.

With Rodriguez's move to Bayern being a loan, there has been speculation of the club trying to sell another player after having reportedly agreed an in-principle deal for a fee in the range of €180m (£160.9m, $209.8m) for the Frenchman.

However, when his agent Jonathan Barnett was asked to comment on the possible transfer, he told the BBC: "It's a ridiculous, stupid story." Jose Mourinho too stated that the Welshman had no intention of moving back to England, having won three Champions League titles and also the La Liga.

However, Zinedine Zidane offered a ray of hope to United fans when he stated that despite his commitment to keep his flourishing attack in place, anything could happen before the end of the summer. Bale would likely be seen as an alternative to Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic, whose reported move to United has stalled after intervention from Inter. Mourinho has expressed his desire to sign one more attacking player capable of playing out wide before the window shuts.

"Let's hope that all of the members of the BBC stay here," Zidane told reporters at a press conference held after Los Blancos suffered a heavy 4-1 friendly defeat to Manchester City in Los Angeles. "I want the BBC to stay put, it's the same for all of the players who are here. That said, up until 31 August anything can happen".