Gareth Bale \'Preferred Not To Play\' In Match Against City
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.