Despite Gareth Bale seemingly not being anywhere near Zinedine Zidane's plans at Real Madrid, the £350 000-a-week star's agent has revealed that his client will not leave Los Blancos.
The Welshman has not played a big role in the Frenchman's side since the tactician's return to the Santiago Bernabeu for a second spell as manager, having featured just twice since football in Spain resumed.
In recent matches, Bale has caused a stir by acting up on the bench: first pretending to sleep, and then using medical tape as binoculars. The 31-year-old is also believed to have infuriated fans with his reserved LaLiga title celebrations last Thursday, and was dropped altogether for Los Blancos' match against Leganes this past weekend.
Many are therefore assuming these instances could lead to the former Tottenham Hotspur man's exit from Real, but his agent Jonathan Barnett has now claimed his player will not be going anywhere.
"He likes living in Madrid and he is going nowhere.
"He is still as good as anyone else in the team. It's up to Zinedine Zidane.
"Of course, there's been interest, but there's hardly a club in the world which can afford him.
"It's a great loss that he's not in the Real Madrid team at the moment, but he will not leave."
Barnett also insisted that Bale does not hate Zidane, despite the French manager's apparent reluctance to use him.
"Gareth is not looking to outlast Zinedine Zidane. Mr. Zidane has been very successful," he added.
"There's no hatred. Mr. Zidane just does not want to play him. Gareth trains every day, and he trains well."
Bale, who is said to earn £350 000 (R7.3 million) a week in Spain, made just 16 LaLiga appearances for Real this season, contributing to four goals.
