Santiago Solari Talks Gareth Bale, Vinicius Junior Ahead of El Clasico

Real Madrid manager Santiago Solari discussed the importance of Gareth Bale and Vinicius Junior ahead of Saturday's El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

Bale has slipped down the pecking order at Real Madrid due to the emergence of Vincius, but Solari said in a pre-match press conference he is still a key player for Los Blancos.

"Everyone knows what Bale can do and they know what he has given to the club," he said. "... [He and other players] are still important. Titles are won by whole squads. Bale has played in every game since returning from injury and he is scoring goals. He did it in the Club World Cup and in the Champions League final too."

Bale showed his frustration at his reduced role at Madrid after coming on and scoring a penalty against Levante and then brushing off attempted celebrations from Lucas Vazquez:

Former Real Madrid midfielder Luis Milla told Goal's Ignasi Oliva that Bale had made a "terrible mistake" in snubbing his team-mate's congratulations. 

Bale has also attracted criticism from the Spanish press for other reasons:

Real Madrid team-mate Marcelo has said Bale does not talk at Real Madrid because he does not speak much Spanish despite having lived in Madrid for six years, per Marca (h/t Matt Porter for MailOnline).

According to AS (h/t Football Espana), president Florentino Perez has already decided to sell Bale in the summer. 

Meanwhile, Vinicius has been starring for Real Madrid in his first full season in La Liga after moving to the club from Brazilian side Flamengo in summer 2018.

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Solari spoke about the 18-year-old's qualities after he impressed during Wednesday's 3-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

"I like to look at all the positive things that football players do," he said. "Vinicius has a lot of positive things; his ability, quality, sacrifice, willingness to learn and how he can stand the pressure – so many things in such a short time.

Vinicius' form this season has already earned him a first call-up to Tite's Brazil squad, and he looks to have a big future ahead of him. The same cannot be said for Bale whose time in Spain appears to be coming to an end.