Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid despite Manchester United offering more money

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Gareth Bale's agent has claimed that Manchester United actually outbid Real Madrid for his client, but the player's personal desire to join the Spanish giants scuppered their chances.

The 25-year-old moved to the Bernabéu from Tottenham Hotspur for a world-record fee of £85 million in September 2013.

But according to Jonathan Barnett, Bale's agent, United were willing to pay even more to acquire the former Southampton player.

Despite the huge amount of money they were offering, though, United's pursuit of Bale failed because the Welshman only wanted to sign for Madrid.

In an interview with AS, Barnett said: "It was one of the greatest, if not the largest (transfers).

"And to complete it was a great honour for me because I met Gareth when he was very young and I was able to help make dream come true.

"He always wanted to play for Madrid. He could have gone to United and other clubs, but he wanted to Madrid."

When asked if United had tabled a higher bid than Madrid for Bale, Barnett replied: "Not much more, but more.

"I know that at one time Barcelona were also interested in him, but he said he did not want to go there."

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