Former Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has said that it would be a mistake if Los Blancos decided to sell Gareth Bale at the end of the season.

Bale has again been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu amid suggestions that club president Florentino Perez wants to offload the attacker in this summer's transfer window.

Arbeloa, however, has said that Bale "is as good as anyone" at Real, and the former Spain international believes that his former club would regret parting with the Wales international.

"I really hope Madrid don't sell Gareth Bale, I certainly wouldn't," Marca quotes Arbeloa as saying. "I don't believe his time here is over or that he is in a bad run of form, I think he has a lot left to give this club.

"If I was Zizou (Zinedine Zidane) I would trust Gareth a lot because when he is on top of his game he is as good as anyone else. The fitness problems he has suffered are difficult for him but right now Madrid need all their players and Gareth is as good as anyone."

Manchester United and Bale's former club Tottenham Hotspur have both been linked with the 28-year-old in recent weeks.