Zidane Wants Bale to Stay at Real Madrid This Season

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane claims that he wants Gareth Bale to stay at the club for the remainder of the 2019-20 season.

The Wales international was deemed to be surplus to requirements in the Spanish capital during the summer and was on the brink of moving to the Chinese Super League, only for a deal to fall apart in the 11th hour.

It's been suggested that Bale could be on the move once the the transfer market re-opens in January, but Zidane has stressed that he wants the 30-year-old to stay at the Santiago Bernabéu for the remainder of the season.

"I want Gareth to stay here until the end of the season," Zidane said, as quoted by Marca. "People keep saying that I want him to leave in January, it's nonsense.

"Our fans have to think positively, as the player wants to be with us. He has returned here and wants to recover, but he simply hasn't recovered yet.

"We have a good relationship and say 'good day' every day and I truly love all my players. Nothing has ever happened with Bale, even in the summer when he was going to go.

"[The media] need to stop always saying the same thing or asking me about him leaving matches early, because I used to do the same.

"There are closer relationships with certain players, but the important thing is that he was with the team before the match and at half time to support them.

"You look for things that aren't there. He wants to see the team win, I have no doubts about that."

Zidane also touched on Bale's inclusion in Ryan Giggs' most recent Wales squad ahead of the upcoming international break.

The former Tottenham star has been out of action for Real Madrid due to injury and his selection for Wales came as a surprise, but Zidane has backed Giggs' decision even though Bale isn't fully recovered.

"What we want is for the player to be comfortable, but at the moment he isn't ready to play normally," he added. "Wales have the right to call him up.

"The player wants to be fit, there's no doubt about that. We'll see how he is this week, at the moment he's not ready."