Gareth Bale vows to fight for place despite Manchester United interest

Gareth Bale wants to stay at Real Madrid and fight for his place, despite interest from a Manchester United side he believes are getting “back to where they belong” under Jose Mourinho.

Not for the first time the 28-year-old is subject to intense speculation, with reports in Spain suggesting the LaLiga giants could part company with the attacker if Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe arrives.

Talk stepped up a notch when Mourinho pledged to “fight” for Bale if he was not involved in the UEFA Super Cup – only for his impressive display in Tuesday’s 2-1 win to lead the United boss to concede it was “game over” on that front.

After the match in Skopje, the Wales international was peppered with questions about his future, yet appeared unflustered and reiterated his desire to stay at the Bernabeu.

“What do you want me to say? I’m concentrating on my football, I’m concentrating on getting my fitness up,” Bale said.

“I’m happy I’m playing football, I’m winning trophies, so yeah, I don’t want to move, there’s not really much more I can say.

“The club hasn’t said anything, we’ve spoke, they’re happy with everything and, yeah, for me, I just want to concentrate now on getting fit, on getting ready for the new season and playing as well as I can.”

Despite his success in Spain, Bale has been portrayed as a dispensable member of Madrid’s star-studded attack – and the recent speculation over Mbappe’s arrival has only highlighted that.

“Obviously, I feel like I’m happy to fight for my place,” Bale said when the battle for a starting berth was put to him.

“We’re all fighting for our places anyway. It’s nothing new in football, it happens at every club, you just carry on like normal.”

That sense of normality means Zinedine Zidane has not even broached the subject of Mourinho’s pre-match comments with a player who does not feel anything needs discussing with the club.

Bale insists his family are settled in the Spanish capital and downplayed the transfer speculation, saying it got a “little bit more hyped up” purely because Madrid were facing United in the Super Cup.

Bale hit the bar and set up Isco in a 2-1 win in Skopje, where Zidane’s men sparkled at times.

United struggled to contain Madrid but the former Tottenham winger saw enough promise from Mourinho’s men to predict that the glory days will soon return to Old Trafford.

“We’re enjoying winning, enjoying winning trophies, like everyone would, so for us, we’re hungry to win everything, still want to keep winning games, winning trophies, so yeah we just carry on like that,” Bale said of life with Madrid.

“As for United, they did very well, they gave us a difficult game today, and I’m sure they’ll do fantastic this season.”

Asked if the fear factor around United is starting to come back, Bale said: “Yeah, I think it’s getting there.

“Obviously I think by bringing Mourinho in it’s kind of boosted the club, by winning a few trophies last year, it did them great, and I think they’re getting back to where they belong.

“I see no reason why (they can’t be a force in the Champions League this season).

“He’s a great manager, he’s done everything in football, he knows what he’s doing and I’m sure he’s building a great team for what he hopes to achieve there.”