Report: Real Madrid Calls Off Gareth Bale's Proposed Move to Jiangsu Suning

According to reports, Gareth Bale's intended move to Jiangsu Suning has been called off by Real Madrid.

Gareth Bale's intended move to Jiangsu Suning has been called off by Real Madrid, according to BBC Sport. 

The Welsh winger was closing in on a blockbuster three-year-deal contract with the Chinese Super League club, reportedly set to earn £1 million ($1.2m) a week deal, but as BBC's David Ornstein writes, the Spanish giant has backed off the move.

According to other outlets, the team's president Florentino Perez blocked the move as he believes Bale's value is much higher than the original asking price. China's transfer window shuts on Wednesday and the clock is ticking for both Madrid and Bale, to see if a deal can happen before the deadline.

In terms of squad depth, given Marco Asensio's ACL and meniscus injury, which potentially has him out of action for the majority of the season, and doubts over Luke Jovic's fitness after a knock during the team's 7-3 loss to Atletico Madrid in the International Champions Cup, Zinedine Zidane needs all the help he can get as the French manager looks to help Los Blancos bounce back after the previous campaign where the club ended third in the league and was knocked out of all major cup competitions, including the Champions League.

Whether it's Bale or another player, Madrid has a lot of work to do in order to compete with the likes of Barcelona and the aforementioned Atletico.