When Los Blancos celebrated the LaLiga title and their Champions League comeback against Manchester City, Bale was nowhere to be seen, so the coach was asked if the forward is distant from the rest of the squad.
All the players care about Bale
Carlo Ancelotti has spoken about Real Madrid’s incredible week and their celebrations, as well as the fact that Gareth Bale wasn’t present. When Los Blancos celebrated the LaLiga title and their Champions League comeback against Manchester City, Bale was nowhere to be seen, so the coach was asked if the forward is distant from the rest of the squad. “He wasn’t there because he couldn’t move, not because he is distant,” Ancelotti replied in his Saturday press conference. “All the players care about Bale, and he cares about them, but he wasn’t there because he couldn’t be there. He had a back problem, and it isn’t easy to move when that happens. I know. It has happened to me.” The press conference also focused on Sunday’s Madrid derby, when the league champions will visit Atletico Madrid.
Ancelotti will give Courtois a rest for the upcoming game
Ancelotti revealed that Andriy Lunin will start ahead of Thibaut Courtois and that some other players won’t be available. “We have some players who can’t play like David Alaba, Eden Hazard, Bale and Isco,” he revealed. “Also, I’ll start Lunin, giving Courtois a rest for this game. I will think about the whole line-up tomorrow. We need to try to stay sharp in the four games we have before the Champions League final.” One of the big talking points ahead of the derby is whether or not Atletico Madrid will greet the Real Madrid players with a guard of honour to toast their LaLiga Santander success. “Each team should do what they want,” Ancelotti said when asked if he thinks Atletico should do this.
“We must respect their decision, as this is a neighbouring club that we respect a lot, from their fans to the players to the coach. If they give us a guard of honour, then that’s nice, but if not, then it doesn’t matter.”