Manchester United Transfer News: Gareth Bale Blow Dealt by Madrid Star's Agent

Manchester United have been dealt a big blow in their long-rumoured pursuit of Gareth Bale after the Welshman's agent insisted he was happy in Spain.  

The Red Devils have long been linked with a big-money move to bring Bale to Old Trafford, and although they missed out in the most recent transfer window, they are apparently still confident of getting their man in the future, per the Daily Telegraph's Jason Burt.

However, the former Tottenham Hotspur star's agent, Jonathan Barnett, has told the Soccerex convention Bale is "very happy" at Real and "hopefully he will stay there for the rest of his career," per Eurosport's Tom Adams.

Barnett provided further comments on his star man and rubbished the constant speculation surrounding Bale as "stupid paper talk," per Soccerex:

Bale moved to the Bernabeu from Spurs in 2013 for a world-record £86 million transfer fee, but he has endured mixed fortunes in his first two seasons.

Under new Real manager Rafael Benitez, he has been deployed in a more central role behind the striker, and he reaped the rewards by scoring a double against Real Betis in the Madrid outfit's last La Liga outing.

Other than Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale is arguably Real's biggest star, and he will remain an absolutely essential cog in the Madrid machine this season after the La Liga giants decided not to make any major new additions in the transfer window, per Bleacher Report's Andy Brassell:

His profile at the Bernabeu always made it unlikely he would be moved on any time soon, and Barnett's latest comments seem to confirm that.

United will seemingly have to look elsewhere in the coming transfer windows if they wish to add another global superstar to their ranks.

They are currently short on truly world-class names, and they are relying on the largely unproven new recruits Memphis Depay and Anthony Martial to be big hits and for skipper Wayne Rooney to lead the way in a goalscoring capacity.