Bale has 'no clue' over Ronaldo's Real Madrid future

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale says he has "no clue" if Cristiano Ronaldo will leave the club in the transfer window.

Speculation emerged last month that Ronaldo wants to move away from Spain, having reportedly been unhappy with the club's level of support in the wake of allegations of tax fraud.

The 32-year-old is said to have been pacified following talks with Madrid president Florentino Perez, but a refusal to speak publicly about his intentions has done little to dispel the rumours entirely.

Bale, who has spent the last four years alongside Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabeu, admits that he is in the dark about his team-mate's plans.

"I haven't read anything," he told Marca. "I have no clue about what's going to happen. Look, yesterday I found out that [Romelu] Lukaku had signed for Manchester United... I honestly don't know.

"We won titles, we did well, we don't need to change anything."

When pressed on whether he expects Ronaldo to stay, he added: "Well, you'll have to ask him."

One man who has been linked with a move to Madrid is Kylian Mbappe, with the Monaco striker's future still far from clear.

Bale concedes that he has watched little of the 18-year-old but would welcome his arrival if Madrid pushed ahead with a move.

"I haven't seen much of him, really," he said. "I don't watch a lot of football but I know that he's a good player and if he comes it's because he's had a great season and hopefully he can help the team."

Bale's involvement last term was curtailed by ankle and calf injuries, with the Wales international missing all of his side's last six LaLiga games and managing only 13 minutes of the Champions League final win over Juventus.

However, the 28-year-old says he worked hard on his fitness simply to be in the squad for the 4-1 win in Cardiff and now hopes to play a bigger role in 2017-18.

"Obviously during the holidays I haven't done a lot of intense stuff but I'm recovering well," he said.

"Last year, the pain made it difficult for me to stay fit. I've worked hard to recover and now I'm able to do pre-season.

"To be honest, six weeks before the final I worked hard to get fit, and to be on the bench was rewarding because I hadn't done that work to not be there at all.

"I worked hard, 12 hours a day, to be available for the final and to be able to enjoy those minutes was really rewarding. Lifting the cup in front of my friends and family was incredible.

"We go out to win everything, that's the plan, and we believe we can do it. I'm sure we'll also need a bit of luck."