Real Madrid snub Gareth Bale for friendly against Red Bull Salzburg

Future of unsettled Welsh winger remains uncertain at Spanish club after move to China reportedly scuppered

September 2013: Villarreal v Real Madrid – debut goal. After the start to his Real Madrid career was disrupted by injury, Gareth Bale scored his first goal for his new club against Villarreal in a La Liga game at El Madrigal Stadium. Getty

November 2013: Real Madrid v Real Valldolid – the perfect hat-trick. Bale started to realise the demands of Real Madrid fans after being criticised for his display in the Clasico defeat to Barcelona in October. He responded by going on a red-hot run of goalscoring form, which included his first Madrid treble in a 4-0 win over Valladolid. It was a perfect hat-trick, too: left foot, right foot, header. Getty

April 2014: Real Madrid v Barcelona - Copa del Rey final winner. The crowning moment of Bale’s debut season at Real Madrid. With the score level at 1-1, Bale scored one of the greatest goals in Spanish football history, burning Barcelona defender Marc Bartra for pace, sprinting half the pitch, before sliding the ball home for an 85th minute winner. Getty

May 2014: Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid - Champions League final goal. Bale stepped up once again on the biggest of stages. After the Champions League final seemed to be heading to penalties, Bale scored to give Real Madrid a 2-1 lead in extra time. Real went on to win 4-1 and claim their 10th European Cup. Getty

December 2014: Real Madrid v San Lorenzo - Club World Cup final goal. In a season blighted by more injury problems, Bale scored in his third major final for Real Madrid, netting the second in a 2-0 win over San Lorenzo to win the Fifa Club World Cup. Getty

December 2015: Real Madrid v Rayo Vallecano - four-goal haul. Bale produced the most prolific performance of his Real Madrid career when he scored four goals in a 10-2 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano in La Liga. Three weeks later, he scored another hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Deportivo. Getty

May 2018: Real Madrid v Liverpool - Champions League final match-winner. Bale was finding himself increasingly marginalised by Zidane and was among the substitutes for the Champions League final against Liverpool. Called off the bench with the score at 1-1, Bale scored one of the greatest goals in Champions League history with a spectacular overhead kick. He scored again to steer Madrid to a 3-1 win and their third successive European Cup. Getty

December 2018: Fifa Club World Cup - player of the tournament. After the exit of Zidane, Bale resumed a more important role under eventual successor Santiago Solari and was central to Madrid’s Club World Cup triumph in Abu Dhabi. He scored a hat-trick in the semi-final against Kashima Antlers before Madrid beat Al Ain in the final. He was named player of the tournament. Getty

February 2019: Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid - 100th goal. On February 9, 2019 Bale became just the 15th player in Real Madrid’s history to score 100 goals for the club when he struck in a 3-1 win away to city rivals Atletico. Bale has since moved on to 102 goals, placing him 14th on Madrid’s all-time list. Getty

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.