Gareth Bale‘s first choice of club remains Manchester United by some distance, if the Champions League match-winner were to leave Real Madrid this summer – although there is now much more doubt over whether the Premier League side would do a deal.

The 28-year-old offered what looked the ultimate parting gift by winning the European Cup final against Liverpool with two goals, one of them among the greatest ever seen in the fixture, before then admitting he has to consider his future after a season where he has been in and out of the side.

Bale only started the final in Kyiv as a substitute, before winning the game with an overhead kick.

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“I need to be playing week in, week out, and that’s not happened this season,” the forward said. “I had an injury five, six weeks into the season but I’ve been fit ever since,” added Bale. I have to sit down with my agent in the summer and discuss it.”

Manager Zinedine Zidane then admitted Bale’s situation is “complicated”, but it could be even more complicated to get the deal he wants.

There has been mutual interest between United and Bale since 2012, and the Old Trafford club did threaten Madrid for his signature in 2013. The possibility of a deal has been mooted through back channels for the past few years, and looked like it might finally happen last summer, as Jose Mourinho then publicly acknowledged it around the 2017 Super Cup.

The parties couldn’t come to an agreement, however, and United’s interest has since then greatly cooled. They feel that a deal for Bale would be too high-priced – both in terms of a fee and wages, given he is said to earn a total of almost £600,000 a week – at too high an age, especially given recent injury problems. Such a move is also much more unlikely after the mid-season signing of Alexis Sanchez. United's priority is no longer an attacker, especially in a summer where they are set to spend big on other positions, although Bale's star power could yet prove persuasive for the right deal.

Bale is however now said by Madrid sources to greatly want a move to Old Trafford, and has discussed with the figures in the Bernabeu dressing room he is friendly with.

It will now take a shift in mindset from United, or a shift in circumstances and demands, for any deal to come through.

The future of Cristiano Ronaldo could be just as influential for Bale, as he cast doubt over his own Real Madrid future in the wake of the record win. If the Portuguese were to finally leave, it would free up that place in the side, and president Florentino Perez is known to be a huge fan of Bale.

The mind of the player might change if he gets that regular starting place, as he stated publicly, but sources say that he would by now prefer a move away – and above all to Old Trafford.