Real Madrid star Gareth Bale was spotted playing golf only two days after the Welshman was left out of the 24-man squad that will take on Manchester City for a crucial second leg of the UEFA Champions League.
The video, acquired by Spanish outlet “El Chiringuito” notes Gareth Bale is hitting the links at the same time Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane is giving his team the final instructions before they take the pitch at Etihad Stadium.
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This certainly doesn't bode well for Bale, who reportedly had a case of gastroenteritis on Wednesday, causing him to miss practice and consequently be left out of the 24-man squad.
Zidane revealed on Thursday evening that the 31-year-old Wales international ‘preferred not to play' at Etihad Stadium for reasons of travel.
“I'll explain,” said Zidane on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. “Bale? In the end, many things are said and we have a respectful relationship between us. It is a private conversation, but I can only tell you that he preferred not to play and the rest is between him and me. I'm not disappointed, I respect him.
“Bale didn't disappoint me. I'm not going to tell you anything. It's the third question about Gareth, I just said what happened. I have a lot of respect for Gareth and things should be inside the locker room between the players and the coach.”
Bale has a day off now that he's home and he can do with it as he so pleases. Though optics are a huge part of playing football at its highest level and Bale isn't helping himself venturing into the links on the day his teammates take on the most crucial game of their season, down 2-1 in aggregate and needing at least two away goals to force a tiebreak.
If Real Madrid is eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on Friday, the vultures won't come for Zidane, they will come for Bale — and he's certainly not doing much to put out the fire when he makes these type of decisions at a vital point of the season.