Bale's agent not interested in 'slanging matches' with Madrid boss Zidane

Jonathan Barnett, Gareth Bale's agent, has attempted to defuse his tense relationship with Real Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane.

Published : Jul 23, 2019 20:13 IST

Zinedine Zidane claimed Gareth Bale refused to play the pre-season fixture against Bayern Munich.
Zinedine Zidane claimed Gareth Bale refused to play the pre-season fixture against Bayern Munich.
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Zinedine Zidane claimed Gareth Bale refused to play the pre-season fixture against Bayern Munich.

Gareth Bale's agent is not willing to enter into "slanging matches" with Zinedine Zidane after the Real Madrid boss claimed the Wales forward refused to play in the pre-season friendly with Bayern Munich.

Madrid boss Zidane accused Bale of making his own decision not to feature in the International Champions Cup defeat to the Bundesliga champion at the weekend.

The absence occurred in the wake of Zidane admitting his desire for the 30-year-old to be sold sooner rather than later.

Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, branded the Frenchman a "disgrace" in response to those comments, but insisted there would be no ongoing war of words on Tuesday.

Read: Guardiola rejects China criticism

"That's not something we've ever spoken about [missing the Bayern game]. I'm not getting into any slanging matches," Barnett told Omnisport.

"I've never criticised anybody for anything other than what they said or what they did."

Bale joined LaLiga giants Madrid in 2013 and signed a lucrative contract extension in 2016.

And with three seasons still left to run on that deal, there is no urgency from his camp to force a resolution.

Barnett confirmed on Tuesday to Sky Sports News that the player will not consider a loan move away from the Spanish capital amid strong links to the Chinese Super League, where clubs are reportedly considering offering wages of £1million per week.

Barnett declined to reveal Bale's preference for China or Europe, adding: "If Gareth finds something that he really likes then we'll talk about it.

"He's a Real Madrid player. He's got three years on his contract. Nothing can change that fact.

"If he didn't have a contract it would be a problem for him. But he's fine. He's signed a contract and he's fine."

Madrid faces Arsenal in an International Champions Cup clash in Maryland on Tuesday.

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