Real Madrid urged to sell Gareth Bale to Manchester United by 72% of fans

Real Madrid have been urged to sanction the departure of Gareth Bale to Manchester United after a poll by Spanish daily AS revealed that nearly three-quarters of fans would support the sale of the Wales international.

A recent poll made by the publication has revealed that 72% of their readers would sell the 27-year-old star to Old Trafford only four years after he joined Los Blancos from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record fee.

Bale helped Los Blancos to win the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in his debut campaign in Spain scoring in both finals against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

However, the former Southampton youngster has failed to replicate that form in the following campaigns, with a number of injuries having hampered his adaptation to life in La Liga.

Bale's long-term future at the Santiago Bernabeu came under special scrutiny at the end of last season after a number of pundits and Real fans urged manager Zinedine Zidane to use Isco ahead of him in the Champions League final against Juventus.

Zidane eventually took that advice and the decision paid off, with Isco starting and helping Los Real Madrid to beat Juventus 4-1 in Cardiff – Bale's home city.

But now fans have urged the Real boss to make an even more drastic decision and sanction his move to Old Trafford.

Questioned whether Real should sell Bale to United before the end of the transfer window more than 72% (around 31,000) of the voters replied yes - while only 27% (around 11,000) would oppose to his departure. The response is particularly enlightening given that AS readers are largely comprised of Real fans.

The poll conducted by the Spanish publication comes after reports from the Manchester Evening News suggested that United's hopes of signing Bale could be boosted by Real's own pursuit of Kylian Mbappe.

The reports have suggested that Real Madrid could part ways with the former Tottenham star to fund the arrival of the Monaco starlet – and make him space for him in Zidane's line-up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

United, meanwhile, have already made two additions to the squad this summer in the form of Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku but Jose Mourinho is still looking to bolster his attack with a pacy forward.

Inter Milan winger Ivan Perisic looks to be his original first choice but reports suggest that United could turn their attention to Bale if Real makes him available.