Gareth Bale is expected to sign for the Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning on a three-year contract worth about £23 million a year after tax.

The Wales forward fell out of favour at Real Madrid last season and Bale’s time was effectively up when Zinédine Zidane returned as coach in March.

The imminent move to China would mean Bale earning £433,000 a week, a a significant increase on his present £350,000-a-week deal, also after tax.

The Spanish club wanted to recoup £50 million of the £86 million world-record transfer paid to Tottenham Hotspur six years ago but have settled for something closer to £18 million, although negotiations are continuing, according to reports last night.

It was a little over a year ago that Bale