Gareth Bale is being tipped to remain in his current surroundings despite the transfer talk that continues to swirl around him, with Dimitar Berbatov admitting “you cannot compare Newcastle with Real Madrid”.
The Wales international has seen a move away from Santiago Bernabeu mooted for some time and a return to the Premier League for the former Tottenham forward is considered to be his best option, although a completely new challenge could be sought in MLS or China.
Berbatov admits that his ex-Spurs team-mate needs to find more regular game time from somewhere, but is not convinced that the 30-year-old will walk away from Madrid for the sake of it.
He is also less than convinced that Newcastle, who are the subject of a potential £300 million ($366m) takeover, can be the ones to lure Bale back to English football.
Berbatov told Betfair of a man he once played alongside in north London: “Every time Gareth Bale is mentioned it is a case of will he leave Real Madrid, will he stay, is he playing, is he scoring, is he playing golf, why is he playing golf?
“It's tiring and in my opinion, he has his agent, his family, his surroundings and if they think that Madrid is the right place for him then he will stay, it doesn't matter what anyone else says.
“Many people think he needs to leave Madrid and some of the supporters want him to leave, but I think he likes it there and if that is the case that is all that will matter to him.
“Personally, I want to see him play more, score more and produce the performances like he has done in the past. If you are not appreciated where you are, then you go somewhere else.
“At Real Madrid his goals to games ratio has been really impressive and some of the goals he has scored during his time there have been amazing, the type of goals that average players cannot score.
“Look at that goal he scored in the Champions League final against Liverpool - it speaks volumes for the quality he has. You can know a lot about a player by the type of goals they score and the goals that Bale has scored really tell me that he has a lot of quality.
“There have been a lot of reports about Newcastle possibly signing Bale, he has been at Real Madrid for some time now, he has won so many trophies and he is appreciated around the world for the football he plays. But with all due respect, you cannot compare Newcastle with Real Madrid.
“If Newcastle want to get him, they need to show him that they are building something. The coach needs somebody with whom he can connect and that might mean they have to get a new coach.
“If Newcastle appoint Mauricio Pochettino, then OK, great start, but then they need to tell him what other players they are going to sign. If he sees all that and he likes what he sees, maybe he will consider it, but for me, I think he will stay at Real Madrid.”