Zidane's Bale decision and the influence of Florentino
In his book, Ancelotti detailed the pressure he was under from Florentino over Bale. The Real Madrid high chief saw the Welshman as heir to the throne that had been shared for nine years between Messi and Cristiano. Time has now passed and it doesn't appear as though this will be the case. In pole position for the throne is Neymar, followed closely by others like Griezmann, Mbappé and Dybala, and maybe some others. It is not, however, Bale, a great player, but one reliant on his athletic physique more than Cristiano Ronaldo (who has plenty more in his locker) and his undoing may be that he is a 'player made of glass', as it has been said before. Fragile.
Bale: splendid but fragile
This has come to the fore because it wasn't appropriate that Bale played in El Clásico. He was injured, hadn't fully recovered, or both. Madrid have players to cover for an unfit Bale, even to fight for a place with an on-form Bale. And I'm not belittling him. He is a splendid player, when fit. In reality, his problem is that he is not necessary, for this reason he is played out of position, in the same way as the incredible Di Maria, and before him, the even better, Robben. The latter was removed by Florentino due to him being "fragile", but no more so than Bale. He grew tired of Di Maria, looking for replacements in his position: first Bale and when he moved into the middle, James.
Zidane led by Florentino, not fairness
Let me return to my previous point: why did an uncertain Bale start el Clásico? Zidane has given some pitiful explanations. "He was very excited," he said. I suppose no more so than Lucas Vázquez, who watched from the stands, or Asensio, who did a lot when he came on, he did more. And what about Isco, or even James. It's up to Zidane if, rather than making the right decision, he is led by the pretensions of his president (who sits side-by-side with Aznar in the VIP box through these difficult days). On Sunday he could have drawn or even won. But he lost and with that is carrying all the weight of the indefensible decision to have Bale in the line-up.