Mourinho had little to say to Bale this time around, unlike their last meeting (Pictures: BT Sport/Getty)

Jose Mourinho appeared a whole lot less friendly with Gareth Bale after Real Madrid’s UEFA Super Cup victory over Manchester United, having now given up on signing the Welshman.

The Portuguese coach created a whirlwind of rumours when he hugged Bale prior to their pre-season friendly in the United States earlier this summer, telling him: ‘I can’t sign you if you don’t talk.’

He then spoke about his desire to sign the 28-year-old publically, claiming that he would be encouraged to move for Bale if he was not named in the starting XI for Tuesday’s game in Skopje.

Real won their 11th straight European or international final thanks to a 2-1 victory (Picture: Getty)
Real won their 11th straight European or international final thanks to a 2-1 victory (Picture: Getty)

But Bale did start, and set up Real’s ultimately decisive second goal, and insisted afterwards that he was happy in the Spanish capital and had no great desire to move to Old Trafford.

Mourinho himself described it as ‘game over’ in his pursuit of Bale, and he shared a tense exchange with his short-lived target as Real collected their winners’ medals.

There was no hug for Bale this time, as Mourinho offered his hand but barely even looked at him (Picture: BT Sport)

The United boss hugged and chatted to Ronaldo, but he could barely even look at Bale and only exchanged a brief handshake.

It was a world away from their embrace in the USA, when Mourinho pulled him in for a big hug, laughing and joking with Bale before dropping his not-so-subtle transfer remark.

Mourinho and Bale shared a warm embrace prior to United’s penalty shootout win (Picture: AS)

But if Mourinho was using Zinedine Zidane’s team sheet as a means of finding out which Real players might be available this summer, he may have found a new target.

Another of the club’s incredibly talented attackers, Marco Asensio, did not make the starting XI – as is so often the case – and only entered the fray after 74 minutes, replacing Bale.

Mourinho made a beeline for Asensio, who starred for Spain at the Under-21 European Championships (Picture: Directo)

But he got a big hug from Mourinho as the United manager prowled the pitch at full-time, congratulating many of the Real players who he had coached previously – though Asensio arrived a long time after he left.

Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to add a fourth and final signing to his summer spending spree, and wants a winger.

But so far the club have failed to agree a deal with Inter for Ivan Perisic and have been snubbed by Gareth Bale, meaning Mourinho is running out of options to complete his squad for the season ahead.

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