GARETH BALE will not feature in Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Manchester City after being left out the 24-man squad.
Zinedine Zidane has selected his travelling party for the second leg of the last-16 tie, which City lead 2-1.
Gareth Bale’s season is over after being dropped from Real’s Champions League squad.Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Despite Los Blancos’ need to score at least twice at the Etihad, Welsh winger Bale will not make the trip.
Neither he, nor fellow absentee James Rodriguez, are thought to be injured.
In their place, former City youngster Brahim Diaz makes the cut having only played ten games all season.
Castilla defender Javi Hernandez comes in with Sergio Ramos travelling to Manchester despite being banned for the second leg.
Zidane’s decision to leave Bale out marks the end of a torrid campaign for the 31-year-old.
Almost sold to a Chinese Super League side last summer, he was kept in the first-team even though his relationship with the coach was at breaking point during his first spell in charge.
REAL MADRID SQUAD TO FACE MAN CITY
GK: Thibaut Courtois, Alphonse Areola, Diego Altube.
DEF: Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, Sergio Ramos*, Raphael Varane, Nacho Fernandez, Marcelo, Ferland Mendy, Javi Hernández.
*Suspended
MID: Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Fede Valverde, Isco, Marco Asensio.
ATT: Eden Hazard, Karim Benzema, Lucas Vazquez, Luka Jovic, Brahim Diaz, Vinicius, Rodrygo Goes.
Struggling with a handful of injuries, Bale scored just three times in 20 appearances and played only once after the restart.
While Madrid rampaged past Barcelona to scoop the league title, his biggest contributions came in his antics on the bench.
In one game, he joked that he was asleep under his face mask before making binocular gestures to the pitch in another.
Rumours are rife that Real will try and sell their one-time record signing with two years left on his contract.
However, Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett says his client is happy in Spain and emphasised that it was Zidane’s decision to exile the winger.
He told BBC Sport: “Gareth is fine. He has two years left on his contract.
“He likes living in Madrid and he is going nowhere.
“He is still as good as anyone else in the team. It’s up to Zinedine Zidane.
“Of course there’s been interest but there’s hardly a club in the world which can afford him.
“It’s a great loss that he’s not in the Real Madrid team at the moment but he will not leave.”
Watch birthday-boy Gareth Bale’s half-hearted celebrations as Real Madrid win LaLiga title after latest Zinedine Zidane snub
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
