Report: Real Madrid willing to let Bale go to China for free

Real Madrid are so desperate to cut bait with Gareth Bale that they're willing to let the Welshman move to China this summer for free, a club source told Rodrigo Faez and Dermot Corrigan of ESPN.

Both Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Guoan are reportedly interested in bringing the 30-year-old aboard.

Bale's trophy-filled tenure at the Bernabeu is coming to a bitter end. After excluding him from the squad for Saturday's preseason friendly against Bayern Munich, manager Zinedine Zidane, surprisingly forthright in his assessment of the situation, said he's hoping the oft-injured attacker would "soon" leave the club. Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, swiftly responded by calling the French bench boss a "disgrace."

The spat preceded reports that Beijing Guoan would be willing to make Bale the highest-paid player in China. Ezequiel Lavezzi, who suits up for Hebei Fortune, is the top earner in the Chinese Super League, reportedly raking in over £500,000 per week.

Bale, meanwhile, is said to be earning €17 million per year after tax in the Spanish capital.

Faez and Corrigan note that no European team has submitted a bid for the former Tottenham star, with his hefty wages and checkered injury history proving to be stumbling blocks. They add that Madrid, in an effort to save roughly €100 million in payroll over the three years remaining on Bale's contract, are willing to make him a free agent to facilitate a move to China.

Meanwhile, the source close to Faez and Corrigan shot down sensational reports in Europe that Bale could be used as a makeweight in a potential move for Paris Saint-Germain attacker Neymar.