This archive report was first published on 30 October 2019.
October 30, 2019 - Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has dismissed speculation that Gareth Bale wants to leave the club, stating that the Welsh forward has never expressed a desire to depart.
Bale, 30, was set to join Jiangsu Suning in the summer, but the deal collapsed when Real Madrid insisted on a transfer fee.
Since then, Bale has played seven club games in the 2019-20 season, scoring two goals.
“If he can train, he trains and if he can play, he plays. In fact, he’s played a lot of games – he’s never talked about leaving,” Zidane said.
Real Madrid paid a then-world record £85.3m to sign Bale from Tottenham in September 2013, and the Welshman has since won numerous titles with the club, including four Champions League trophies.
However, after being left out of Real’s pre-season defeat by Bayern Munich, Zidane suggested that Bale leaving the club would be “best for everyone”, before the three-year China deal was cancelled.
On Monday, it was reported that Bale had flown to London to meet his agent, but Zidane insisted he had been allowed to travel to England on a personal matter.
