"There's never been a relationship between Bale and Zidane"

Gareth Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett has once again spoken publically about the relationship between the Real Madrid winger and his coach Zinedine Zidane.

Last week, Barnett called Zidane “a disgrace” after the French coach had publically stated he wanted to see Bale leave the Bernabéu as soon possible and confirmed that the club was negotiating his exit.

It was the first time that Zidane had spoken so frankly regarding the Bale situation, but it has been no secret that the pair’s relationship has been deteriorating for quite some time.

And in his latest public statements picked up by French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche, the player’s agent went as far as to say that: “There is no relationship between them. And there never has been.”

Bale’s China move is now off - reports

In the week following Zidane’s comments after the Bayern Munich game last Saturday in the US, reports were that Bale was set to join Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning, with the Welshman agreeing to a three-year contract worth £1 million a week.

But according to the BBC this Sunday, Madrid have put a halt to the move, which would mean that Bale could remain in the Spanish capital for the upcoming season.

The Madrid board has reportedly blocked the move as they wanted a higher transfer fee for the 30-year-old striker. But another consideration for the club in relation to Bale could be Marco Asensio’s injury set back. The Spanish winger is expected to miss the majority of the season after he ruptured knee ligaments against Arsenal on Wednesday, thus reducing Zidane’s options in attack.