Gareth Bale and Zidane ‘at breaking point’ with relationship ‘personal and worse than ever’ over Real Madrid snubs
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GARETH BALE'S Real Madrid future is once again in doubt amid reports of the player's deteriorating relationship with coach Zinedine Zidane.
The pair have a rocky history and Zidane tried to sell the Welshman at all costs last summer.
A move to China was halted by the club and Bale has remained a fringe player in Real's title challenge so far this campaign.
According to , the situation has managed to worsen with their working relationship "at breaking point" and "worse than ever".
While putting on a brave face in public, Zidane and his coaching staff are described as dismayed at Bale's reaction to being dropped.
The 30-year-old, still under contract for two more years, hasn't scored in LaLiga since September 1 but can count only one start since football's restart.
Further problems arise for Bale when one of his allies in Madrid, club president Florentino Perez, is reportedly losing faith in his record signing.
However his performances in training are said to be more than satisfactory, something which has generated talk of confusion among his teammates with a sense that he deserves a longer spell in the team.
It is thought part of Bale's frustration grew when dropped for the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, in which he scored a spectacular goal after coming on as a substitute.
A brief period of time without Zidane in the dugout saw the forward gain more prominence under Julen Lopetegui before the ex-midfielder returned to his old job.
Bale admitted last year that his famous Kiev strike was never talked about between them despite his desperation to start that night.
He told : "[Zidane] didn't talk to me about it.
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"Our relationship was good. I wouldn't say we were best mates, it was just a normal professional relationship.
"I was really frustrated not to start. I'd played pretty well since coming back from the last little niggle I'd had in December. I scored five goals in my last four league games of the season and felt like I deserved to be involved from the start."
Whether Real can find a buyer for Bale and his massive £650,000-a-week wage packet remains to be seen, with his agent Jonathan Barnett describing a return to the Premier League as of little interest to the Wales international.