Following Gareth Bale's loan move from Real Madrid to Jose Mourinho's Tottenham Hotspur, Zinedine Zidane has made a surprising claim about his relationship with the Welshman.
The 31-year-old completed a loan switch back to Spurs over the weekend, seven years after leaving the Lilywhites to join the European giants in Spain.
His last few seasons at Real have been difficult despite playing an integral role in many of the club's trophy wins in recent years, with many believing his relationship with Zidane had completely broken down.
Due to this, fingers have been pointed at the Frenchman as the reason for Bale's move, but the manager has claimed there is more to the winger's exit.
"I'm not annoyed that people are blaming me for his departure because it's not like that," he said, according to the International Business Times.
"The matter is more complicated than that."
Zidane then insisted he never had any personal issues with the Wales international, who scored 105 goals for Los Blancos.
"No one is going to take away what he's done at Real Madrid. What he's done here has been phenomenal – you can't dispute that because he's won a lot and shown his quality," he continued.
"The important thing is what the player wants to do – my opinion remains the same.
"We've done things together, with the club and the player. Will it be a weight off my mind? No, because it was never a weight. I never had a problem with him."
Bale won 13 trophies in seven years in Spain, including four UEFA Champions League titles.
