Gareth Bale in contract talks over €500m Real Madrid release clause to scupper Manchester United transfer plans

Bale will be rewarded for his impressive form last season with a new long-term contract that will put him on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Gareth Bale's new contract could see a release clause of €500m inserted (Getty)

Gareth Bale is poised to receive a pay rise that will put him in the same bracket as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, with Manchester United’s hopes of signing him in the future suffering a setback as a new contract will put his Real Madrid release clause in the region of €500m.

According to reports, Bale is already in talks with Real over a new to extend his stay in Madrid after arriving in a then-world record £86m deal from Tottenham in 2013. Despite having his transfer fee surpassed by United’s move for Paul Pogba, Bale remains one of the most lucrative players in the world, and his stock has risen further after he led Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals.

Bale is known to be one of a number of Real players in talks to extend their stays at Real, and The Guardian reports that the Spanish club want to keep the Welshman at the Santiago Bernabeu for the remainder of his elite career, despite United attempting to sign him last summer.

As part of the measures being taken to keep Bale in Madrid, club president Florentino Perez has held talks with Bale’s representatives about a €500m [£427m] release clause, which would price United out of the market despite their large financial spending power. Given that Real do not want to sell Bale, the prospect of him moving to Old Trafford appears highly unlikely if a new deal is announced.

Such figures like the one being discussed over Bale’s buy-out clause are not an unknown to Real, wit Perez previously confirming that Ronaldo’s fee stands at €1bn, the highest of any footballer worldwide.

But given that Ronaldo is now 31 years old, Real are already looking for the next face of the club and appear to have identified Bale as the Portuguese’s successor given the lucrative offer he is in line to receive. Talks have been drawn out, with both the contract details and the legal matters causing disagreements in negotiations, but both Real and bale are confident of a successful outcome.

Ronaldo and Messi are regarded as the finest current players in the world and are rewarded through their salaries as the two highest-paid players in world football, but Bale is among the chasing pack attempting to bridge the gap to the two football icons alongside the likes of Neymar, Luis Suarez, Paul Pogba and Eden Hazard.