Ryan Giggs Explains Gareth Bale Substitution

Real Madrid outcast Gareth Bale played just 45 minutes for Wales on Thursday, and manager Ryan Giggs has since explained why.

The Welshman has not played a lot of football in recent months, and was given just a single half of action in his nation's 1-0 UEFA Nations League win over Finland on Thursday.

Many thought Bale was perhaps withdrawn due to less than productive performance, but Wales manager Giggs revealed in a post-match press conference that it was always the plan for the 31-year-old to only play one half.

"Gareth Bale, it was planned for him to come off at half-time, he's had no football at all," he said, according to Goal. 

1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus) – $105 million

14) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) – $21.8 million

13) Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) – $25.2 million

12) Alexis Sanchez (Manchester United/Inter MIlan) – $25.6 million

11) David De Gea (Manchester United) – $25.7 million

10) Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona) – $26.7 million

9) Oscar (Guanghzou Evergrande) – $27.5 million

8) Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – $28.5 million

7) Mesut Ozil (Arsenal) – $28.7 million

6) Andres Iniesta (Vissel Kobe) – $29.6 million

5) Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) – $33.8 million

4) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – $35.1 million

3) Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) – $95.5 million

2) Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) – $104 million

"He was always going to get 45 minutes."

Giggs then spoke further about his team's victory.

"It was a gritty performance, not our usual flowing football, but Finland made it difficult for us. It's the kind of game we can learn from," he added.

"We take the plusses because we dug out a result and with a clean sheet we've always got a chance."

Bale has played 84 times for his country, scoring 33 goals and assisting a further 14 strikes along the way.

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