Gareth Bale slammed as ‘disrespectful’ by Dimitar Berbatov after Real Madrid ace pretended to sleep on bench during game

GARETH BALE has been labelled "disrespectful" by Dimitar Berbatov for pretending to be asleep during a game.

And former Manchester United star Berba believes the Welshman's time at Real Madrid is up.

Bale, 31, was pictured pretending to be fast asleep with a coronavirus mask covering his face after being left on the bench for Real's 2-0 win over Alaves last week.

A few days later he was at it again, entertaining himself with some makeshift binoculars after again being benched by Zinedine Zidane.

The behaviour has not gone unnoticed by Berbatov, who believes Bale's fooling around shows he is "unprofessional".

The former Tottenham striker told : "Gareth Bale is in the headlines again for pretending to sleep in the stands when he found out he was going to be an unused substitute.

"When I saw it I couldn’t believe it. I watched him put his mask over his eyes and pretend to be asleep.

"I cannot support that. It is unprofessional and disrespectful to Real Madrid.

"Madrid need to find a solution to the Bale saga. It’s not good for Bale or the team."

Bernabeu boss Zidane recently insisted he and Bale - who has not played a minute of Real's last five games in the crunch LaLiga run in - are "united".

But Berbatov believes the only solution to this seemingly neverending saga is for Bale - who has had a tumultuous time in the Spanish capital - to find a new club.

That is easier said than done given his sky-high wages, which are believed to be around the £350,000-a-week mark.

Berbatov believes a loan move could be the best option.

He added: "The only solution is for Bale to leave Real Madrid.

"If I was a Real Madrid fan and saw a player disrespecting the team like that, it would be too much.

"Bale should be asking for a solution, even if it is a loan move. It was a show of power, it was if he was saying, 'play me or I’ll do whatever I want'. That doesn’t sit right with me."