Zinedine Zidane has responded to being called a “disgrace” by Gareth Bale’s agent.
And Zizou isn’t standing down in this situation, as he revealed that Bale refused to play in their friendly against Bayern Munich in Houston, Texas on Saturday.
Talk about doubling down…
Real Madrid’s manager said last week that Bale would be leaving the Spanish giants and it would be “best for everyone” if it happened quickly. That prompted an angry response from Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, who believed his client deserved more respect after winning four UEFA Champions League trophies, a La Liga title and Spanish Cup in his six seasons at Real.
Zidane has confirmed that Bale is training with Real in the U.S. and may play against Arsenal in Washington D.C. later today. But the situation is far from resolved.
“The first thing is that I’ve never disrespected anybody – certainly not any player. I’ve always said the same. Players are the most important thing here. If there is a player here, I will be with them. Secondly, I said the club were trying to find a way out for Gareth,” Zidane explained.
“Thirdly, which is the most important, is that the other day he didn’t get changed for the game because he didn’t want to. The club are trying to find a way out for him. For now, Gareth is a Real Madrid player, he’s going to train normally with us and we will see what happens on Tuesday.”
Bale, 30, is reportedly not keen on taking a huge pay cut from his $620,000 per week contract at Real and his family are settled in Madrid. He has another three years left on his monster contract at Real, and this is a huge problem for Zidane to sort out. Bale’s agent has also said that his client will not be leaving on loan, and that really puts Real in a tough position.
After signing the likes of Rodrygo, Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic this summer, Real’s attack has a whole new feel to it with Karim Benzema, Mariano Diaz and Lucas Vazquez all still around too.
Our own Nick Mendola broke the situation down over the weekend as to where Bale could move, with the likes of Bayern Munich, Tottenham and PSG listed as possible destinations, while a move to the Chinese Super League seems increasingly likely.
Reports suggest both Jiangsu Suning and Beijing Guoan will pay Bale over $1.3 million per week to get him to move to China, and if he is to leave Real this seems like the best option right now as many of Europe’s top clubs are balking at his huge wages, let alone stumping up a transfer fee for him.
It isn’t Bale’s fault Real offered him this huge amount of cash. And it isn’t his fault that Zidane doesn’t seem to rate him and Real’s fans boo him. The supporters have latched onto stories that Bale doesn’t speak Spanish after seven years in Madrid, plus the fact he enjoys being out on the golf course a lot and they blame that for many of his injuries.
That said, Bale has scored 102 goals and added 65 assists in 231 appearances for Real, which include star displays in Champions League and Spanish Cup finals. Real and Zidane want to get rid of Bale, but he isn’t going to go anywhere if he doesn’t want to.
Player power will win this battle, as it always does these days.
