Report: Real Madrid to Offer Gareth Bale, £70M for City's Raheem Sterling

Real Madrid are reportedly set to make an offer of £70 million and Gareth Bale for Manchester City star Raheem Sterling.

According to Sky Sports News, Real will finalise the details of their bid after watching Sterling play for England in the upcoming international break.

The winger's agents are said to have met with Los Blancos general director Jose Angel Sanchez in the summer, but a deal was not agreed.

Bale almost left Real for the Chinese Super League in the summer before the Spanish giants withdrew his proposed move to Jiangsu Suning.

According to Cadena SER (h/t AS), rumours linking Bale with China have persisted, and the Welshman wants to leave the Santiago Bernabeu as early as January.

However, Sky added City boss Pep Guardiola has "little interest" in signing Bale.

Bale has scored 104 goals and assisted 67 in 238 matches for Real, helping the team win four UEFA Champions League titles and La Liga, among other honours.

However, the winger will turn 31 next summer, and he has been injury-prone throughout his time in the Spanish capital.

City won't want to contemplate losing Sterling, either. The 24-year-old has developed into one of their most important players under Guardiola and has 13 goals and five assists to his name this season.

In October, he bagged a hat-trick for the Sky Blues against Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League (U.S. and UK only, respectively):

He's had a sensational calendar year:

Given his age, he might still hit new heights, whereas Bale is only likely to decline in the coming years.

Offering a player in exchange for Sterling could be the best way to prise him away from the Etihad Stadium, but even one of Bale's calibre isn't likely to be enough.