David Moyes reveals how close Gareth Bale was to signing for Manchester United

David Moyes has revealed just how close Manchester United came to signing Gareth Bale before his £85 million move to Real Madrid.

Manchester United have long been associated with fast, high-scoring wingers. From the days of George Best to David Beckham to Cristiano Ronaldo, it is a staple of Old Trafford.

Even now, those such as Aleandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, and Amad Diallo are controlling the wings at Old Trafford and often getting fans off their seats in excitement and anticipation.

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One player who certainly did just that during the 2010s was Tottenham and Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale. The Welsh galactico very much feels like the most Manchester United-type of player who never signed for the club.

United were very close to signing Bale in 2013, the summer David Moyes joined as the new manager, taking over from Sir Alex Ferguson. However, the deal could not be struck, and he eventually moved to Real Marid for a fee of around £85 million, which was a world-record deal at the time.

Moyes has now revealed exactly what happened during that transfer window, explaining that the club even had a helicopter waiting for Bale, also noting that the club came close to bringing in Cesc Fàbregas, too.

“We just didn’t make good enough signings in my first transfer window,” Moyes said in a recent interview. “Marouane Fellaini was signed right on deadline day, and in truth, in terms of the signings I wanted, we had a terrible window.

“Cesc Fàbregas was the player I really wanted. I discussed it with Sir Alex Ferguson and we agreed he was a player that should be brought in. I spoke to Cesc and he’d been out of the team at Barcelona, so he agreed that if he wasn’t in the team for their first game of the season then he’d come to United. He was going to be the big signing.

“The other player I wanted was Gareth Bale. United always had great wide players like David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, so I thought he would fit.

“We made the bigger offer to Tottenham and to the player. We had a helicopter waiting for him, but he had his heart set on Real Madrid.”

Bale would go on to win five Champions League titles, three La Liga trophies, and a whole other host of honours while playing for one of the most successful Real Madrid teams of all time.

He formed brilliant relationships with Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo during their respective peak seasons at the club. It is certainly a transfer that United fans will rue.

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