Zinedine Zidane explained why he excluded him from the traveling contingent. The Frenchman has revealed that he left Bale because the forward did not want to play a part in the match.
Gareth Bale decided not to participate in the match against Manchester City
Gareth Bale did not make Real Madrid’s squad for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City. Zinedine Zidane explained why he excluded him from the traveling contingent. The Frenchman has revealed that he left Bale because the forward did not want to play a part in the match. “Bale is a Real Madrid star, nothing has changed, and I respect that,” Zidane said. “In the end, many things are said, and we have a respectful relationship between the boss and the player. It is a private talk, but I can only say that he preferred not to play, and the rest was between him and me”. Eden Hazard ended LaLiga season with some discomfort, but Zidane is confident that his player will fit again.
“He indeed had a little discomfort at the end of LaLiga season, but now he is much better. So I think he is good and confident,” he added. “Playing every two or three days was indeed more difficult for him, and he did not gotta play with discomfort. He is now fine, and hopefully, he can continue without any problems. Finally, he indicated that his Real Madrid players would handle the game against Manchester City like a final. “The squad is fine because we have prepared for this battle,” Zidane continued. “We know we have a flaw, but this is another final, and we are going to try everything to have a great game.
We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, but it will be a good match between two great teams, and this is the most important thing. The team knows the situation on the result of the first stage. There are four finals if we want to win the Champions League.”