Bale insists he is happy to stay and fight for his place at Real Madrid.
And who can blame him when Real have won three Champions League titles, three UEFA Super Cups, La Liga and the Copa Del Rey in the four seasons since he joined them from Tottenham.
But while Tuesday’s 2-1 Super Cup win showed that the Spanish club are still a class above United, Bale is convinced the club that has coveted him for years are on the way back to the top.
“I think they’re getting there,” he said of United’s progress under Mourinho.
“Obviously by bringing Mourinho in, it’s kind of boosted the club.
“It did them good to win a few trophies last year and I think they’re getting back to where they belong.
“They gave us a difficult game and I see no reason why they can’t be a force in the Champions League this season.
“Jose’s a great manager, he’s done everything in football, he knows what he’s doing and I’m sure he’s building a great team for what he hopes to achieve there. I’m sure they will do fantastic this season.”
Real president Florentino Perez said after Tuesday’s game: “I am not contemplating selling him. He is a player of Real Madrid, he is important for us and he is one of the best players in the world.”
But it seems Bale didn’t need any re-assurances.
“Obviously I’m happy to fight for my place,” said the Welshman.
“We’re all fighting for our places anyway. It’s nothing new in football, it happens at every club, you just carry on like normal.
“The club hasn’t said anything [about being sold]. We’ve spoken, they’re happy with everything and I just want to concentrate now on getting fit, getting ready for the new season and playing as well as I can.
“There’s been no need for anything to be said. Everything has gone as normal like it has every year. There’s been the normal speculation, like there is every year, and I think obviously it’s been a little bit more hyped up because we were playing Manchester United.
“It [the speculation] doesn’t bother me at all. I really don’t read it, obviously there’s been a lot of it over the last few days that I get told about. It doesn’t bother me, I’ve had it for about 10 or 11 years now so it’s nothing new.”
“We enjoy winning games, we enjoy winning trophies and we’re hungry to win everything. Like any footballer, you want to win as many trophies as you can, so that’s the main thing.
“Everything’s good, the family is settled and we’re enjoying it so there’s not really much more I can say.”
