Zinedine Zidane said Real Madrid left Gareth Bale off their squad for Thursday\'s match against Manchester City because he \"preferred not to play.\"
\"We have a relationship of respect between coach and player. That\'s clear,\" Zidane said in his pre-match news conference on Thursday. \"It\'s a personal conversation. The only thing I can say is [Bale] preferred not to play. The rest is between him and I.\"
Zidane said the decision as \"personal\" and denied being disappointed in Bale\'s attitude.
\"I respect Gareth a lot,\" he said. \"Things have to stay inside the dressing room between players and coach. Gareth Bale is a Real Madrid player and I respect that. He preferred not to play, that\'s the only thing I can tell you.\"
Sources say Bale preferred not to travel with the expectation he wouldn\'t play in the match.