Wales manager Chris Coleman has made his argument for Gareth Bale to remain in Spain with Real Madrid for the foreseeable future.
The 26-year-old has long been linked with a return to the Premier League, with the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City interested, as reported by ESPN FC.
Having moved to the Spanish capital in 2013, he has enjoyed great success during his time with the club and would seemingly be disappointed to leave.
Injuries and a lack of form at times has led to increased talk of a return to England though, but Coleman, admittedly from a selfish point of view, has insisted that he would prefer to see his fellow Welshman stay in Spain.
“I’d prefer to see Gareth stay in Spain with Real Madrid — purely for selfish reasons,” former Fulham manager Coleman said in The Daily Mirror.
“When you’re in the Premier League we all know how it is… a battle every week. It’s flat-out and if you are below 100 percent you get found out. It is a physically demanding league. It’s a fantastic competition and up there with the best leagues in the world.
“But, in Spain, it doesn’t cause as much fatigue during the second half of the season. The quality is there, but the physical demands on players are different.
“But wherever Gareth plays his club football he will always have the full backing of me and everyone in the Wales set-up.”
Bale will have a crucial role to play for Wales at Euro 2016 in France this summer, with his side being drawn in Group B along with England, Russia and Slovakia.
Having scored 15 goals and provided 13 assists in just 24 appearances so far this season, the former Tottenham star’s first priority will be to continue to improve his fitness and form and help Los Blancos to win silverware.
The Spanish giants advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League this week after overcoming Wolfsburg, while they sit just four points adrift of rivals Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table with six games remaining.
Given the blip that the Catalan side are experiencing, Zinedine Zidane’s side, along with city rivals Atletico Madrid, will be hopeful of taking full advantage and in turn close the gap further in the coming weeks to apply even more pressure on Luis Enrique’s men.