Zidane edges away from Bale again: He's not happy with the Welshman's training Real Madrid Player is on the periphery

It's no coincidence that Gareth Bale has regularly been left out of Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid squads.

The Frenchman isn't happy with the player's efforts in training, and he believes his No.11 hasn't been pulling his weight in training since recovering from his ankle injury in Salamanca.

Bale hasn't been called up since January 22, and while it's true that he missed the game against Valladolid through injury, him missing the games with Real Zaragoza, Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad has been down to Zidane's decisions.

The pair's relationship has gone cold again, which is nothing new for them.

It's been up and down since Zidane returned to the capital in March 2019, but the current state of their relationship is as bad as it's been and on par with the tension seen through the summer.

The coach accepted that Bale was going to be at his disposal after his attempted sale broke down and even trusted him earlier in the season, but that trust has since faded.

Zidane hasn't written anything off though and Bale may well return if he raises his performance in training.