Gareth Bale wasn’t fit to travel, reveals Zinedine Zidane
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Zinedine Zidane has revealed that Real Madrid star Gareth Bale wasn’t fully fit to join the club in Munich for their pre-season. The 30-year-old was on his way out of the club to join Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning but the move collapsed after which Bale withdrew from the pre-season squad.
Gareth Bale was not fit to travel with Real Madrid to Munich for their pre-season friendly against his former side, Tottenham reports Zinedine Zidane. The Welsh superstar missed the 1-0 loss to Spurs after reports indicated that he withdrew from the pre-season squad, stating that he was not in the right mental state to travel.
“He didn't travel because he wasn't fit,” revealed Zidane. “After speaking with the doctors, the best thing was for him to stay in Madrid. He stayed back and is training there. It was a joint decision between the player, medical staff and the coach."
This is after Bale’s proposed move to Chinese side Jiangsu Suning collapsed with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez asking for a transfer fee. The Chinese Super League were not willing to pay the transfer fee as they were reportedly giving Bale around 1 million a week in wages alongside a three-year contract with the club.
But with an injury to Marco Asensio and Real Madrid’s reported chase for Paul Pogba, the Los Blancos wanted a fee to help ease their burden and get Bale off their books. That has been reiterated by Zidane multiple times, with him revealing that the Welshman was very close to leaving the Santiago Bernabeu.
