Real Madrid midfielder and Germany international Toni Kroos recently came out in defence of out-of-favour teammate Gareth Bale regarding his failed exit from the club last season.
Bale, 31, was set to leave the LaLiga champions during the off-season break last year to join Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning before Los Blancos rejected the move. The Wales international has remained in the Spanish capital since, despite a reportedly patchy relationship with head coach Zinedine Zidane.
In response to the much-publicised situation between the winger and the club, Kroos has admitted that having an unhappy player around the squad has made things uneasy at the club.
"There's no getting around that the situation is unsatisfying for everyone," the midfielder told Goal.
"I believe that (Gareth Bale) wanted to leave last summer in principle and that they signalled a 'yes' at first and then not again.
"I don't know if he's still a bit mad about that. It's a difficult subject."
The former Tottenham Hotspur star was reportedly set to earn £1 million (R16.5 million) a week in China, but Real president Florentino Perez seemingly decided late on that he would not let one of his highest earners leave on a free – despite having three years left on his contract at the time, Jiangsu Suning were understood to be unwilling to pay a transfer fee on top of the wages they had offered the Welshman.
