Gareth Bale wants to win Ballon d'Or at Real Madrid, says agent

Gareth Bale says he’s happy to play in a central role under Benitez

Real Madrid’s most expensive signing, Gareth Bale looks to be happier than ever following the fulfillment of playing a central role under new manager Rafa Benitez, said the Welshman’s agent on The Guardian. Bale has been moaning for far too long and he has been left frustrated having to play wide on the right for Real Madrid in the past two seasons.

The Welshman made a glorious start to his Real Madrid career and who could forget the way he sped past Marc Bartra near the touchline in the Copa Del Rey final? He went on to score the winner in the 88th minute against Barcelona and the 24-year-old was shone the spotlight all night.

Bale put the icing on the cake in his successful first season at the Bernabeu by scoring in the final of UEFA Champions League. But much to everyone’s dismay, his happiness was cut short in the following season when he endured a rough and difficult phase – finding himself booed by the some of the Bernabeu faithful.

The unsettlement of Bale during his rough spell spurred speculation of him making a return to England, with Manchester United interested in signing the Real Madrid player. But Jonathan Barnett has dismissed the speculation and admits Bale is far more content in Spain under Benitez as he’s looking to achieve his long-term goal of winning the Ballon d’ Or.

“Real is the best club in the world and they bought him,” said Barnett at the Soccerex conference in Manchester on Tuesday.

“He wants to do well. He badly wants to see Real Madrid and himself achieve certain targets, which he has always wanted ever since we first got together. One of those is to win the Ballon d’Or and he’s got the best chance in the world playing at Real Madrid. He wants to win everything and he’s very hungry to win everything. He hasn’t won the Spanish League yet [either] and statistics proves that if you play for Real Madrid or Barcelona then you have a better chance of winning the Ballon d’Or.”

“If you know Real Madrid you know how great it is there. I have players all around the world and I don’t think there’s another club like it. It’s hard to put your finger on it. I can’t say it’s one particular thing that is fantastic there.”

Bale commits his future to Real Madrid

A lot of questions has been raised over Bale’s future at the Bernabeu but the Welshman’s agent has dismissed speculation of his client’s return to the Premier League and has claimed that any team in the world would love to have Bale on their side.

“No. Everyone covets him. If you were a German reporter you would be asking me: ‘Is he going to come to Bayern Munich?’ And if you were an Italian reporter you would ask me if he would ever come to Juventus. The same if you are an English reporter and you would ask if he would ever come to Man Utd. We haven’t even talked about it [a move to United]. He is so happy with Real Madrid.”

Agent suggests Real Madrid players should involve Bale more in the game

Bale, in his second season at the Santiago Bernabeu, has undeservedly received a lot of stick from fans for his string of ‘underwhelming performances’. Barnett, however, publicly criticized the player’s teammates who are partly to be blamed for his client’s dip in form, stating they need to pass the ball to Bale more often.

“I said a few things and got criticised by Ancelotti. I think things will change,” added the agent with regard to Bale’s switch in position.

“If you look at it now, he is not playing wide right. He is playing more central. And I think that is going to suit him more. More like the freedom he has for Wales. Rafa’s going to give him that. And as long as he scores the goals and the team does well, it is easier to accept. And he enjoys that [role] because he was getting a little frustrated. If you look at the statistics he didn’t get the ball that much. And when he did get it, it was slow.”

Barnett also hits out at Real Madrid fans for the jeers on Bale: “That was a shame. They love [Cristiano] Ronaldo. If you watch the way Real Madrid play this season you’ll see a shift. If he can get to where he thinks he wants to be then they will love him. If he scores 40-50 goals like Ronaldo does then everyone will love him. That’s the truth. Ronaldo scores a lot of goals.”

Barnett believes Bale and Ronaldo are both key to Real Madrid’s success and insists the two players share a good relationship.

“It’s only one little section [of Real fans] and I don’t understand that myself,”

“There’s no tension there at all.”