Zinedine Zidane makes Gareth Bale admission ahead of Man City tie

Zinedine Zidane has admitted that Gareth Bale told him he did not want to play a part in the club’s Champions League round of sixteen clash against Manchester City this evening.

There has been a lot said and written about Bale’s future over the past couple of weeks, with several pundits urging him to return to the Premier League instead of rotting on the bench at Madrid (Daily Mail).

While there have been once again suggestions that Spurs might try and bring the Welshman back to the club (Football.London), the winger’s agent Jonathan Barnett has admitted that the 31-year-old plans on seeing out his contract at Madrid (BBC Sport).

The former Tottenham star has hardly been involved in the first-team picture since the restart with reports indicating that Los Blancos are desperate to get him off their wage bill this summer (Marca).

Just when it appeared as if Bale’s relationship with Zidane could not get any worse, the Frenchman has now admitted that the experienced star refused to be involved against City.

Speaking ahead of the clash at the Etihad, Zidane told Sky Sports: “It was a personal conversation I had with him. He preferred not to play.

“The rest remains between me and him but he said he didn’t want to.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I would not be surprised if Real Madrid decided to subsidise Bale’s wages just to get him out of the club this summer. It does not seem as if Zidane views him as a positive influence on the dressing room. The only problem is that Madrid are themselves in a difficult financial situation and so they cannot really afford to pay off a huge chunk of Bale’s contract.

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