GARETH BALE has been left stunned after Real Madrid pulled the plug on his move to China.
And Real boss Zinedine Zidane is also furious he has been over-ruled and told that Bale looks certain to stay.
Real president Florentino Perez has delivered a shock u-turn and informed Jiangsu Suning they cannot have the Welsh star on free transfer.
The Chinese Super League team were willing to pay Bale over £1million-a-week on a three-year deal.
Initially, the deal was to be completed by tonight.
But Bale has now been told he must prepare for another season in Spain as there are no other serious offers for the £650,000-a-week star.
The situation also shows an issue between Zidane and club supremo Perez as the Real manager wanted the player out of the door as soon as possible.
Perez is now telling Zidane that the forward must be played.
The Chinese transfer window shuts on Wednesday and it seems too late for a fresh deal – involving a transfer fee – to be established.
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Bale was a second half substitute in Real’s bizarre 7-3 loss to Atletico Madrid in the United States.
Former Spurs star bale, who was keen on a move to China, must now try and work his way back into the team even though he is not on speaking terms with Zidane.
Other teams have been interested in Bale but he was refusing to consider a pay cut.