His manager no longer wants him, so Real Madrid star Gareth Bale is hitting the links.
Bale’s current status with the team currently stands in bitter uncertainty, with both sides reportedly looking to part ways. While Real Madrid played Tottenham in the Audi Cup in Germany, a preseason tune-up, Bale was spotted playing golf in Madrid. Manager Zinedine Zidane attributed Bale’s absence to an illness, and refused to criticize the 30-year-old Welshman.
“I don’t know. You are telling me something that has surely happened,” Zidane told reporters after the match. “I’m here with my players, and I’m not going to comment on that. I’ve not seen the picture. I’m here with my players, so I can’t say much about that. I hope he’s working well.
“But I’m here with my players, and we will see when we get back to Madrid. I’m not going to tell him off or that he’s not allowed to do it. He’s old enough to do what he wants.”
After a slew of questions on the topic, Zidane quickly grew frustrated and refused to answer more about the golf outing. His defense of Bale is a far-cry from his previous comments, however, where he publicly expressed his desire for a departure.
“We hope he leaves soon,” Zidane told reporters after Madrid’s 3-1 International Champions Cup defeat to Bayern Munich. “It would be the best for everyone.”
Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, subsequently called Zidane a “disgrace,” and made the whole situation quite clear.
“Zidane doesn’t like Gareth,” Barnett said to Le Journal du Dimanche. “There’s no relationship between them. There never has been.”
While Zidane cited illness as the reason Bale was not with his teammates, he reportedly stayed home because he was upset after a potential move to Jiangsu Suning, who play in the Chinese Super League, fell through, according to Keegan. The move would have reportedly paid Bale a whopping $1 million per week, but the league’s transfer window shut on Wednesday without a deal, leaving Bale frustrated with how the team handled the negotiations.
While teams in other leagues can still opt to buy him, Bale’s age and $727,524 per week wages likely hamper any potential move. Bale was brought to the club in a then-world record fee of $132 million. He’s enjoyed multiple memorable moments with the team, scoring breathtaking and game-winning goals in the Copa Del Rey and Champions League finals. It’s increasingly looking like he’ll be with Real Madrid this season, where he’ll have to learn to live with a manager that clearly wants him out.