South Wales Echo

Bale ready to quit Real, says pundit

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GARETH Bale is reportedly finally ready to quit Real Madrid this summer.

That’s according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, who says Bale has lost patience with Real boss Zinedine Zidane, after he was left out of the shock 2-2 draw with Club Brugge in the Champions League last week.

Writing for Spanish outlet AS, Balague says Bale was left ‘angry’ and ‘confused’ at his unexplaine­d exclusion from the squad, and the already frosty relationsh­ip between the pair now appears to be at breaking point.

The player was still required to attend the game, but fell foul of club rules when he was five minutes late arriving at Bernabeu, and there is a feeling that the divide between himself and the club’s hierarchy has become more pronounced.

The winger returned to the Real side that saw off Granada 4-2 at the weekend, and earned himself his second assist of the season, in a game that also saw former Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard bag his first Real goal.

Bale has been in and out of the starting XI this season, with Zidane under pressure following a series of poor results.

Despite the former Spurs star arguably being one of the club’s better performers in this campaign, last week’s snub suggests there is little hope of Bale reconcilin­g with the Frenchman.

Despite coming close to a bigmoney move to China in the summer, reports in Spain have always claimed that Bale’s preference has been to stay at the Bernabeu.

However, having helped the club to four Champions League titles, he is believed to have finally lost patience with Zidane and the Real hierarchy, and is now, for the first time, keen to leave the Spanish capital.

■ Due to an early deadline, we are unable to bring you a report from Newport v Exeter... see tomorrow’s South Wales Echo for reaction to the game.

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