This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
Published on July 22, 2019, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has hinted that Welsh international Gareth Bale's time at the club may be coming to an end.
Forward Bale, 30, has won four Champions League titles since joining Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 for a then world record 100 million euros ($112.20 million). However, he struggled to hold down his place in the starting side last season.
Amid suggestions that competition will only increase next season after the arrival of Belgian Eden Hazard, Bale was left out of Saturday's 3-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in a pre-season clash in Houston.
"He wasn't included in the squad because the club is working on his departure... that's why he didn't play," Zidane told a news conference.
"We'll have to see if it goes through tomorrow, if it does then all the better. Let's hope, for everyone's sake, that it happens soon," Zidane added.
However, Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett labelled Zidane "a disgrace" for his comments, saying "If and when Gareth goes it will be because it is in the best interest of Gareth and nothing to do with Zidane pushing."
