This is the astronomical offer Gareth Bale could get in the Chinese Super League

Gareth Bale

The Wales winger is not in the plans of Bernabeu coach Zinedine Zidane, who said on Saturday that it would be “best for everyone” if Bale left.

But securing the 30-year-old's signature will be an extremely costly business, according to Sky Sports News.

A source close to Bale has told the outlet that the forward, who currently earns £550,000 per week in Madrid, would need “something very huge and special” to consider leaving, possibly a contract that would “come close to making him the highest-paid player in the world”.

The former Tottenham star has another three years left to run on his deal with the La Liga side, who he joined in 2013 for a then-world record £85 million fee.

He has been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League after his agent Jonathan Barnett labelled Zidane “a disgrace” for his treatment of Bale, before confirming he was looking at finding his client a new club.

The Mail Online has reported that Bale will be handed a minimum £20m signing on fee, spread over the length of his stay, if he moves to China.

First-class travel to Europe and luxury accommodation are also among the perks on offer to the Welshman if he accepts a move to the Far East.

Several Chinese teams have shown interest and a willingness to table enormous bids, including Shanghai Shenhua, Beijing Guoan and Jiangsu Suning.

The report claims that Bale will consider a move to the country as he has no interest in returning to the Premier League, and no English side could match the Chinese clubs' financial firepower.

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.