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da brwin： The story involving Zinedine Zidane and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid is an interesting one.
Of course, the Welshman was already all packed and ready to depart the Spanish capital last summer and head to what seemed like the greener pastures of China.
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But something happened to swiftly change the narrative and Bale not only ended up staying at the Santiago Bernabeu but he also became their key man in attack.
And sure, you might expect that from a player who once cost them £85.3m, but we all know how that relationship has quickly deteriorated.
Zidane himself was pretty vocal in public about the whole situation, proclaiming that Bale’s departure would be welcomed and should be done swiftly. Of course, the Frenchman then changed his tune once the transfer window was all but closed and the chances of the player’s departure turned to naught.
Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…
Of course, he suddenly described Bale as one of the important members of his squad.
And with two goals and one assist already to his name in the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga season, Bale has become just that – important.
But even with his palpable contribution to the team, the 30-year-old forward was left on the bench on matchday six and then completely left out of the squad for Real Madrid’s second group stage clash in the Champions League against Club Brugge.
Seeing how Los Blancos completely bottled their European opener, suffering a humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain, leaving out a key forward in the next encounter is a really weird decision, especially when you consider the 2-2 draw against the Belgian side.
It’s also a decision that brings up many questions and demons of the past.
Is Zidane doing this out of spite or is there more to these recent omissions? There must be something because leaving out a player in form in big clashes is counterproductive and suggests there might be some kind of a problem going on behind the scenes in this love-hate relationship.
Of course, with Bale’s well-known injury history, it’s quite possible Zidane is playing his cards rather close to his chest but one would not expect Real to rotate heavily in Europe, particularly in a game that almost left them with egg on their face.
It increasingly looks like a mistake.