Zidane wanted to sell Bale a long time ago

Real Madrid’s former president Ramon Calderon has revealed that coach Zinedine Zidane had already decided to relinquish striker Gareth Bale during his first term in office and instead keep Cristiano Ronaldo with the royals.

“He wanted to keep Ronaldo and sell Bale,” Calderon said in an interview with Sky Sports, adding, “It’s intolerable for everyone: For the player, the coach and the club.”

According to Calderon, the decision by current president Florentino Perez not to hand over Bale in the summer of 2018 was a decisive factor in Zidane leaving the club. “The president did not accept Zidane’s advice, so he left the club. When he returned two months ago, he was promised that Bale would no longer be around.”

Asked whether the club management had acted appropriately last year, Calderon said, “I don’t think so. When things like this happen, you gotta act fast. A year ago, we received an offer of around 100 million euros, but we did not accept it because the President considered him to be the star he had once contracted.”

Zidane himself had stressed last weekend that the parting of the wing player is imminent. Due to a lack of transfer offers from top European clubs, Bale has now been associated with a move to China.