Agent reveals Gareth Bale could have signed for Manchester United

Read Madrid winger Gareth Bale

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale could have been a Manchester United player according to his agent Jonathan Barnett.

The Welsh international broke the world record transfer fee (previously set by Cristiano Ronaldo) in the summer of 2013 after he made his €100 million switch to the capital club of Spain from Tottenham. Since he joined the Bernabeu, Bale has won the Champions League and the Copa Del Rey, scoring both the decisive goals in the final.

Bale only wanted Real Madrid

But Barnett has revealed that he could have been a Red Devil or even a Barcelona player before he joined the reigning European champions. United were willing to pay more than Madrid to land him at Manchester from White Hart Lane but Bale insisted that his lifelong dream was to play in Madrid.

"He could have signed with United or other teams, but he wanted Madrid," he said.

When asked to clarify whether the Red Devils' offer exceeded even that of Madrid, he replied: "Not much more...but more."

Bale is better than Neymar

Barnett also believes that his client is a potential future Ballon d’Or winner and he will attain the standards of his team-mate Ronaldo and Barcelona star Lionel Messi, also stating that he is better than Brazilian sensation Neymar.

"I'm sure that he will be the best player in the world," he told AS. "He will win the Ballon d'Or. He's 25 years old! I told the president and Jose Angel Sanchez and they laughed. They don't laugh much now.

"I told them that Bale was a better player than Neymar and has more impact. In Wales there are fewer people than in Brazil, unfortunately. But in the world I think Gareth is more known and important."