Zidane refuses to discuss Bale’s future after dropping Welshman 

Head coach Zinedine Zidane refused to discuss Gareth Bale’s future after the Welshman was left out of the matchday squad as Real Madrid claimed a hard-fought 3-2 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

A brace from Mariano and Jesus Vallejo’s close-range strike ultimately gave the home side all three points, although Villarreal had been on level terms through Gerard Moreno and created numerous chances before Jaume Costa scored in the fourth minute of injury time.

Despite Karim Benzema being ruled out through injury, Bale was deemed surplus to requirements by Zidane, fuelling speculation that Bale will leave the Bernabeu in the summer.

‘I’m the coach, I have to pick the team and that’s all there is to it,’ Zidane said of his decision to leave Bale out in quotes published on the club’s official website.

‘You can interpret it as you wish. I need to pick a squad of players and some are going to miss out.’

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Real bounced back from a stunning 1-0 defeat at lowly Rayo Vallecano last week and Zidane added: ‘We played much better than the other day and I feel much happier now, as do the players.