Real begin season with newcomer Hazard and unwanted Bale
>> MADRID: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane heads into the new season welcoming Eden Hazard but also having to deal with the conundrum of unwanted star Gareth Bale.
Zidane has rarely had a less than kind word for any of his players, but last month he bared his desire to get rid of Bale by saying the club was negotiating the player’s transfer and his exit would be “better for everyone’s sake.”
The deal Zidane mentioned with an unspecified club never materialised and Bale, for whom Madrid paid a then world-record fee of €100 million, is still on Zidane’s squad ahead of the team’s Spanish league opener at Celta Vigo today.
Madrid can still sell Bale until Sept 2, but the closure of the English transfer market greatly reduces the possible suitors who could take on his reported salary of €15 million (US$16.7 million). Spanish media reports that Bale already rejected a big offer from a Chinese club.
So now Zidane can either rebuild his relationship with the aloof Wales forward or ostracise the team’s highest-paid player and leave him on the bench in hopes the club will find a new home for him during the winter market.
Bale had his chance to become Madrid’s leader last season after the exit of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus. Instead, he and most of his teammates underperformed and were out of the running for a major title several weeks before the end of the season.
Zidane returned to the club in March, less than a year after he had stepped down following a third consecutive Champions League title. With the team in disarray, he promised an overhaul of the squad in the summer.
Getting rid of Bale, who has swung from scoring eye-popping goals to being criticised by supporters for his poor play, was supposed to be the key piece to the makeover of the 13-time European champions.
While Madrid have failed to find a new club for Bale, they successfully bolstered the squad — and their fans’ expectations — by bringing in Hazard from Chelsea.
Hazard arrived from for nearly €100 million, plus add-ons, thus beating the previous club record held by Bale.