Gareth Bale 'wants to play the rest of his life at Real Madrid' says agent

Gareth Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett has revealed that the star forward has set his sights on finishing his club career at Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old moved to the Spanish capital club for a then world record fee of around £85m (€100m, $132m) from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. But there were reports that even before his switch to the Santiago Bernabeu, Spurs' league rivals Manchester United were interested in his signature.

Real's star is still being linked with a return to the Premier League, with United reportedly interested in securing the Welsh international's services. The Guardian claims Jose Mourinho's side will make an approach for Bale after the end of the season, despite his injury concerns.

Barnett has put the recent rumours surrounding Bale's future to bed and also urged Real's supporters to get behind the former Tottenham star.

"He wants to play the rest of his life at Real Madrid. He loves Madrid, the city, life and he loves the club," Barnett told Fichajes.

"Of course it hurts him when the people don't support him and they do with other players who aren't so good. It's crazy, this happens only in Spain and I don't understand it, fans should understand this and know how good he is.

"I think that those who write these stories should go back to school and learn what journalism should be like. It's not inventing stories, I do not want to get angry because I read invented stories.

"Some journalists in Spain write trash, they aren't based on football reasons and this is a mistake, they don't take the time to analyse what he has done. The fans should adore him."

Bale was also a transfer target for United manager Mourinho earlier in the summer. IBTimes UK confirmed at the time that the attacker was not looking to leave Real and return to the Premier League.

He signed an extension with his employers last November and his current deal runs down in 2022. Another report in The Guardian in 2016 claimed Bale earns around £350,000-a-week ($465,186 per week) at Real after tax.

The forward has been struggling with injury and his last appearance for the 12-time European champions came during the Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund on 26 September. However, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane confirmed that the player has returned to training ahead of their Copa del Rey clash against Fuenlabrada on Tuesday, 28 November.