Going to count on Gareth Bale, remarks Zinedine Zidane

Gareth Bale was on the verge of leaving the club this summer, with a move to China on the books. Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning were closing in on the Welsh International, and he was expected to join them in July, but the deal broke at the last minute. 

The Welshman has long been a hated figure at Real Madrid despite leading Real Madrid to Champions League wins in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018. Yet, he has only started 79 matches in the LaLiga, thanks to various injury issues. His behaviour and carefree attitude throughout his tenure in Spain, has also not gone down well with his teammates and Zidane was eager to let him go this season. 

Zidane went to the extent of saying that it would be a "good thing for everyone" if Bale left the Bernabeu. However, it seems the club has decided to keep Bale after a string of injuries plagued the La Liga giants, even before the season started. They’ve lost four players including Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio.

"It looked like he was leaving but now he is here and now I'm going to count on him, just like all the other players that are in the squad. He has a contract, he's an important player and I hope all the players want to make it difficult for me to pick the team," Zidane was quoted saying by BBC.