Gareth Bale: Wales and Real star 'would walk into' Manchester United team - Ian Rush
- Published
Gareth Bale had a difficult 2018-19 season at Real Madrid
Ian Rush says Gareth Bale would "walk into" Manchester United's first team and will "hopefully" return to the Premier League from Real Madrid.
Bale was out of favour under Zinedine Zidane as Real's 2018-19 season ended and he was below par in Wales' Euro 2020 defeats by Croatia and Hungary.
Wales legend Rush says Tottenham and Manchester United are Bale's only two realistic English club options.
"Apart from that, where else are you looking at?" said Rush.
"Looking at Manchester United last season, I think he'd walk into that side now."
As last season drew to a close, Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett told BBC Sport Wales the 29-year-old was 100% committed to the club.
Former Real president Ramon Calderon later said it was "impossible" for Bale to remain at the Bernabeu and Rush says the situation is "difficult".
Rush added: "When a club wants to get rid of you and he wants to stay, it's very difficult and I feel for him because like I've said before, Real Madrid supporters should be applauding him.
"You get to a stage now where different managers have different ways. You just hope that Gareth gets back, hopefully, in the Premier League because everyone wants to see him play.
"In the last two Wales games he hasn't been the player he is, but sometimes even the greatest players have to have a couple of bad games."
Injuries disrupted Bale's season at Real, but Rush believes his successor as Wales' leading goalscorer can overcome any concerns about his age and injury history.
"He's still got a few years left in him and it depends which club wants to take him," said Rush, who scored 28 Wales goals, a record Bale surpassed against China in April, 2018.
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