Report Sheds Light on How Lopetegui's Arrival at Real Madrid Could Impact De Gea & Bale Futures
Real Madrid's appointment of Spain manager Julen Lopetegui has already began throwing the futures of certain players in doubt, according to reports.
Tuesday afternoon saw Los Blancos announce their new boss - only two days before the World Cup kicks off, and the futures of David de Gea and Gareth Bale are now in question.
The timing of Lopetegui's hiring has been criticised rather heavily, with many Spain players now believed to be effected by the decision. With Lopetegui as the new Madrid boss, distance between Barca and Real players has grown within the Spain squad - and at club level, there are more complexities.
According to Daily Mail, de Gea, who has given absolutely no indication that he is looking to leave Old Trafford this summer, is more likely to leave Manchester United because Lopetegui is represented by Jorge Mendes (the goalkeeper's agent).
This seems to mean that Florentino Perez is now looking to sign de Gea, and will rely on Mendes in the process. In the meantime, Lopetegui is expected to start convincing the 27-year-old to return to Madrid this summer while the pair are together over the course of the World Cup.
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Furthermore, Lopetegui's feelings towards Cristiano Ronaldo are said to have caused Gareth Bale to further doubt his Bernabeu future. The new Madrid manager is a huge fan of the 33-year-old, and will do anything he can to keep the Poruguese in the Spanish capital this summer.
As a result, Bale will look to leave - supposedly. The Welshman was hoping for a new boss to come in that would prioritise him over Ronaldo, who has once again claimed that he wants to depart the club.
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Bale is reported to be a target of Manchester United this summer. It's quite surprising that Daily Mail haven't yet gone as far as claiming that a swap deal involving de Gea and Bale is currently being ironed out by the two sides...maybe that'll be next week's news.
