Zinedine Zidane Praises Gareth Bale Amid Real Madrid Exit Rumours

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has praised Gareth Bale's attitude amid rumours linking him with a move away from the club. 

According to Marca's Pablo Polo, Zidane said:

"Gareth is the way he is, he tries to do his best and that is all. There is a lot of talk about him one way or another, but the important thing is to realise that the team is very important. I ask them to give their all and he tries to do that."

Mundo Deportivo's Cristina Cubero (h/t Metro) reported Bale will be sold this summer and is pursuing either a move to Manchester United or a return to Tottenham Hotspur.

Fellow Spanish outlet AS recently reported the club were unhappy with Bale's demeanour after he was benched during Real's 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League.

The Welshman was replaced in the starting lineup by Isco:

Bale has produced a strong return in front of goal this season despite spending much of the campaign struggling for fitness, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

He's shown himself to be capable of world-class performances during his time in the Spanish capital, and he has racked up 76 goals and 57 assists for them in 172 outings.

As such, his agent Jonathan Barnett believes he should be worth the same as Neymar if he were to move on, per Tuttosport (h/t ESPN UK):

The winger's injury record is a concern, though. Last season, he managed just 27 appearances in all competitions, having played only 31 times in the previous campaign.

Given he struggles to be available for more than half a season, Real are unlikely to get anything close to Neymar's world-record fee if they try to sell him.

However, at a more reasonable price, he could be a worthwhile purchase for Spurs or United.