Gareth Bale has been dropped from the Real Madrid squad again, this time for a friendly against Red Bull Salzburg.
Real are due to face Austrian side Salzburg in a pre-season friendly at 9pm today, but speculation is rife once again over the future of the Welshman after he was ignored for the trip to Wals-Siezenheim, according to at least one media report in the UK.
There continues to be an impasse between Bale and Real manager Zinedine Zidane, which has only intensified after the winger's move to China last month was scuppered by club president Florentino Perez.
Bale, who has also been linked with Premier League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, missed the trip to Munich for the Audi Cup pre-season tournament because he was not fit and had stayed in Madrid to train. But media reports in Spain said he had been on the golf course on Tuesday while his teammates were losing 1-0 to Tottenham.
Zidane, though, chose not to wade into the controversy when asked about it on Wednesday after Real beat Fenerbahce 5-3 to finish third in the tournament.
"I am here, I'm here with my players, so I can't really say much. I hope that he has trained there," the Frenchman said .
"I'm not going to stop anyone from doing something, you know? Everyone has their own responsibilities and we will see what he's been up to in Madrid.
"I'm not getting involved with his personal life. He stayed back to train. I think he has trained. And we will see about everything else."
The Bale saga has dominated the closed season at the Madrid club, with multiple media outlets suggesting he was on his way to China to join Jiangsu Suning only to then report that the move had been blocked by Perez.
On Wednesday, the Real players that did travel to Munich ensured the 13-time European champions had enough firepower up front against the Turkish side but Zidane did concede there was a problem with the number of goals they conceded.
"Yes, we're going to resolve that, we're going to work hard and I am one with my players," he added.
"I know we are going to push on and we're going to have a really good season. And that's it.
"Nobody likes to concede three goals. But the important thing for us is the victory. We won with five goals, and we could have scored more, but that's it."
Remind yourself of the happier moments Gareth Bale has enjoyed at Real Madrid in the gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.
