Wednesday 8 October 2014 09:06, UK
Gareth Bale admits he does not want to see Cristiano Ronaldo leave Real Madrid for a second spell in English football.
Portuguese star Ronaldo maintained his incredible scoring burst on Sunday night with his 22nd La Liga hat-trick - equalling the record of Real icon Alfredo Di Stefano and former Athletic Bilbao striker Telmo Zarra - in Madrid's 5-0 rout of Athletic at the Bernabeu.
But stories of a summer return to Manchester United refuse to go away and Ronaldo has even been linked with a sensational move across town to English champions Manchester City.
Yet Real team-mate Bale is in no doubt as to what he wants to see happen regarding Ronaldo's future and it does not involve him returning to England next season.
"Definitely not," Bale said while on international duty ahead of Wales' Euro 2016 home qualifiers against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus.
"He's shown what a world-class player he is year after year scoring the goals.
"Obviously he's a player we wouldn't want to see leave.
"Of course, (I) want to see him stay at Real Madrid."
Bale was also linked with free-spending United last week after Real Madrid fans made it clear they were unhappy with his performances this season.
The Welshman enjoyed a stunning debut season in Spanish football following his world-record £85.3million move from Tottenham, scoring in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals.
But his displays have come under scrutiny in the Spanish capital this term and, ahead of Sunday's game, the influential Madrid newspaper Marca ran a poll asking whether Bale should be relegated to the bench.
Around 60 per cent voted in favour of Bale being dropped but the 25-year-old quashed talk of him leaving Madrid next summer.
"I signed a six-year deal last year so I don't really think so," Bale said.
Bale's focus for the next week is on Wales and their quest to qualify for a first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
Wales won their opening game in Andorra last month and could take a big step towards the expanded Euro 2016 finals in France by beating Bosnia and Cyprus at the Cardiff City Stadium.
"We have massive potential and I want to make history with Wales and qualify for a major tournament," Bale said after being crowned Welsh footballer of the year on Monday night for a record fourth time.
"We've got off to a positive start in the group with three points and we feel we've got the momentum behind us.
"We want to carry that into the next game and get a positive result."
