Gareth Bale's Agent Says No to January Transfer, Summer Move 'Very Unlikely'

Gareth Bale's agent has said the Real Madrid winger is "going nowhere" during the January transfer window and is "very unlikely" to leave the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer.

Jonathan Barnett told ESPN FC's Alex Kirkland a winter transfer won't materialise despite recent rumours of interest from Major League Soccer.

El Desmarque (h/t MLSSoccer.com) reported Los Angeles Galaxy and Inter Miami—the club part-owned by David Beckham, set to begin play in 2020—are among those chasing his signature, via Eurosport UK:

The 30-year-old has made 245 appearances in six-and-a-half years with Los Blancos, having joined from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then-world-record fee of £85.1 million.

A departure has looked likely for some time, however, and Kirkland referred to Zinedine Zidane's comments in July that he hoped the player would be leaving soon.

The Welshman remained in Madrid after a transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning—said to be worth £1 million per week—fell apart, per Ed Aarons and Paul McInnes of the Guardian.

A respiratory infection ruled Bale out of Real's 3-1 win over Valencia in the Spanish Super Cup semi-finals on Wednesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia:

Zidane didn't give his forward much hope of featuring in Sunday's final, when Real will face either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, per Agence France-Presse's Tom Allnutt: 

Any club that signs Bale will have substantial financial obstacles to overcome, not least of which is the player's reported £600,000-per-week salary, per the Guardian.

The attacker has scored twice in 14 appearances across all competitions this term. Calf and thigh injuries have once again restricted his impact on the pitch, while Bale's image in La Liga is far from where his employers might like it to be.

Bale angered fans and sections of the Spanish media when Wales secured UEFA Euro 2020 qualification in late November, celebrating in front of a flag that read: "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order."  

OptaJose pointed to evidence suggesting Real are in fact a superior team without their two most senior forwards:

Bale has a contract at the Bernabeu until 2022 and is under no pressure to leave in the near future. Barnett's remarks once again suggest he's content to see out his current terms in Madrid rather than force an exit.