Real Madrid Transfer News: Gareth Bale Comments Amid Kylian Mbappe Rumours

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho announced it was "game over" for the Red Devils in their pursuit of Gareth Bale after the Welsh winger started for Real Madrid in Tuesday's UEFA Super Cup.

Ahead of the season-opening clash—which Real won 2-1 against United—the Portuguese manager said he would be willing to "fight" for Bale if he became available but conceded there was no chance now as the 28-year-old is wanted at Los Blancos, per BT Sport Football (via the Telegraph):

"Clearly the club wants him, the manager wants him and he wants the club so clearly game over, before it had even started, as everybody knows he is going to stay."

Bale himself was also questioned on the United link after Real's victory in Skopje, Macedonia, and said he is only concentrating on contributing for his current club, per BT Sport (via Alice McKeegan in the Manchester Evening News): 

"I'm just concentrating on my football, I'm not listening to anything. I don't read anything, I just get told bits and bobs. I'm enjoying playing my football here, playing as much as I can, winning trophies, and that's all I'm concentrating on."

Reports linking Bale to Old Trafford reemerged earlier this summer amid rumours about AS Monaco star Kylian Mbappe.

Real were reportedly closing in on signing the French teenager, and Bale was seen as the most vulnerable of Madrid's attackers to make way, per James Ducker in the Telegraph.

However, talk of a move for the 18-year-old to the Santiago Bernabeu has abated, and it has now been reported he has chosen to switch to Paris Saint-Germain, per French outlet TF1 (via Sky Sports News' Kaveh Solhekol):

This could be seen as a potential blow for Real, as the talented Mbappe could have been an ideal long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, the Spanish giants also boast a squad that has won back-to-back UEFA Champions League titles as well as last season's La Liga.

A fit and firing Bale, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, along with the influential Isco, is a front line to match any other club in Europe, especially with Neymar having left Barcelona for PSG.

While Real look unlikely to be making the marquee signing of Mbappe this summer, they are still more than equipped to go after another league and European double in 2017-18.