Gareth Bale appeared to rule out a return to the Premier League following Real Madrid’s defeat to Manchester United in Santa Clara last night.

The Welshman has been heavily linked with a move back to England, with Old Trafford a possible destination, but he insisted that he is happy at the Bernabeu.

When a reporter asked him about Jose Mourinho’s admission that it would be “mission impossible” to get Bale to Man United, the 28-year-old said: “There you go.”

Bale played 45 minutes in Real’s defeat, which came via a penalty shoot-out. Casemiro’s penalty in the second half cancelled out Jesse Lingard’s opener but the Brazilian wasn’t quite as lethal in the shoot-out, his miss handing Man United the win.

After the match, the former Tottenham star found time to speak to United’s new signing Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgium striker has impressed during pre-season, scoring against Real Salt Lake and Manchester City, and he’ll be delighted with the prediction Bale has made about him.

What Bale said to Lukaku

"I just wished him good luck - obviously he's just signed there," Bale said about his conversation with Lukaku, per Goal. "I just wished him luck for the season and hope he has a great season.

"He's been playing long enough, he's done very well in the Premier League and I'm sure he'll do great for them."  

Bale knows exactly what it’s like to command a huge fee, and the pressure that comes with it.

And, though he didn’t ask for it, Lukaku is under huge pressure to deliver for Man United. There’s no space to hide when you cost £75 million.

Bale: We want to win everything

The spotlight is also on Los Blancos to follow up their brilliant 2016-17 season.

Real are defending their La Liga and Champions League crowns, and Bale insists that their lofty targets will provide enough motivation.

"Us as a team every season we go into every competition looking to win it and it's no different again this year,” Bale added.

“We've also got the motivation to do that and we'll be trying our hardest to win every competition we enter.  

"First game of pre-season - for us it's about getting the cobwebs out, get started on getting game time and obviously we would've loved to have won but that's the way it goes."

Real will be eager to get revenge when the two clubs meet in Macedonia for the UEFA Super Cup on August 8.

Will Gareth Bale ever win the Ballon d'Or? Let us know in the comments section below!