Gareth Bale has been included in the Real Madrid starting line up for Tuesday's Super Cup meeting with Manchester United at the Philip II Arena in Skopje.
Bale plays with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench having only started training with his teammates at the weekend following an extended summer break.
Bale's inclusion comes after United manager Jose Mourinho mischievously declared on the eve of the game that he was ready to make a bid to take the Welshman to Old Trafford.
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The former Tottenham Hotspur player has been linked with a transfer amid reports that Madrid want to sign Monaco sensation Kylian Mbappe, who is rated at 180 million euros (£163 million, $212 million) by his club.
But Mourinho suggested that he would interpret Bale being named in the Madrid team here as a sign that he remained in the Spanish giants' plans and would therefore not be for sale.
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Apart from Bale, the Madrid team is the same as that which started the 4-1 Champions League final win over Juventus in Cardiff in June.
Meanwhile, Mourinho included all three of his summer signings to date in his team in the Macedonian capital.
Swedish defender Victor Lindelof, from Benfica, ex-Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic and Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, a £75 million recruit from Everton, all play for the Europa League winners.
Antonio Valencia captains the English side as he makes his 50th appearance in a UEFA club competition fixture.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Cofe
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 80-100
Amount raised: $13m
Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
