Gareth Bale Would Lead Man Utd to 2nd-Place EPL Finish, Says 'FM15' Simulation

Gareth Bale has been pegged as a potential arrival at Manchester United (per Express) over the summer, as Louis van Gaal continues to rebuild at Old Trafford. 

The rumour is still very much a sensational one, but not completely out of the realm of possibility, as the Welshman hasn't been incredibly well received at the Bernabeu in recent days. 

Our friends over at Football Manager decided to see how Bale's arrival would affect United and how they would do with the winger in their setup. 

• Bale signs for $180 million (£118 million) with United, who spend their remaining budget on Spurs’ Jan Vertonghen.
• Bale helps United to a second-place finish, as they are narrowly beaten to the title by fierce rivals Manchester City, but they do win the League Cup.
• Bale makes 31 league appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and creating four assists.
• Bale is mainly used as an attacking right-winger and adds a key attacking threat to the squad, which yields 78 goals for the season—seven fewer than with Messi.
• With an improved defence, United concede 41 goals in the league—six fewer than with Messi in the team.
• United are knocked out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, losing 5-2 on aggregate to Juventus.
• After fielding a team primarily composed of youth team players throughout the competition, Van Gaal entrusts his senior players in the final, and they beat Spurs 3-0 at Wembley.
• They also reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, but are beaten 3-1 by Mourinho’s Chelsea.

Football Manager did the same simulation without Bale's services and United finished in third place, seven adrift of winners Chelsea and trophyless.