Zinedine Zidane Hints at Gareth Bale Exit After Real Madrid Lose to Real Betis

Zinedine Zidane has effectively confirmed Gareth Bale is not in his plans for the future at Real Madrid.

The Welshman was left on the bench as Real's disastrous 2018-19 campaign finished with a 2-0 home defeat to Real Betis on Sunday.

Zidane did not confirm afterwards that Bale will definitely leave. But he said that he had to do what was best for the team, no matter the qualities of an individual player, per Spanish football writer Dermot Corrigan:

Bale, 29, was not a consistent starter for Zidane toward the end of his first spell in charge.

At the end of last season, he did not start the UEFA Champions League final, but then came on to score a double and help Real beat Liverpool 3-1 to secure their third consecutive Champions League title.

When Zidane was reappointed as Real boss back in March, he initially started Bale in three of his first four games back at the club, but he did not play a minute in the last three games of the campaign.

It seems abundantly clear Zidane wants Bale shipped out this summer.

However, he has a contract at the club until 2022, and according to Spanish football pundit Guillem Balague, the former Tottenham Hotspur man does not want to leave:

Despite some poor performances in 2018-19, Bale has been remarkably successful at Real since moving to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2013:

He has never been a fan favourite, though, and he was long in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale could still yet salvage a career that has stalled recently, but he will likely not do it in Madrid based on Zidane's latest comments.