Real Madrid: Modric urges Bale to stay at LaLiga club
Following AS' revelation that Gareth Bale wants to leave next summer, Luka Modric says he hopes he "will stay this season and the next seasons as well".
For a while now, Gareth Bale's future at Real Madrid has been a recurring issue. In recent days, it has once more come to the fore following the news broken by AS on 8 October that the forward is unhappy with coach Zinedine Zidane and the club, and wants to leave next summer. Now, in quotes published in the UK media, team-mate Luka Modric has urged Bale not to go.
"Hopefully he will stay this season and the next seasons"
"He is an amazing player and very important for the team," Modric said of the Welshman, with whom has shared the Bernabéu dressing room since 2013. "He is showing that this season. Hopefully he will stay this season and the next seasons as well," the Croat added. After a summer in which the 30-year-old seemed certain to leave Madrid, Bale has made a promising start to the club campaign, scoring twice and supplying two assists for Los Blancos.
Modric also spoke of his optimism that Madrid can get their bid for 2019/20 Champions League glory back on track after collecting just one point from their opening two group-stage matches. "It's still the beginning of the competition but we have a few more games left," the Ballon d'Or holder insisted. "We are good enough to overcome this bad start and qualify for the next round."
Zidane waiting on Modric, Bale fitness news ahead of crunch games
Modric and Bale came up against each other this international week, as Wales and Croatia played out a 1-1 draw in Euro 2020 qualifying on Sunday. After the Group E stalemate in Cardiff, which both players came away from with knocks, Modric said: "I didn't see Gareth afterwards because I was also injured. We will see if I am OK. I am hopeful he will be OK."
Zidane will certainly be hoping so, having already spoken of his concern at the physical toll the October international break could have on his players. "I'd like to have all my players fit and ready, but they never stop," the Madrid boss said after his side's win over Granada 10 days ago. Modric and Bale will both undergo scans on Tuesday to ascertain the exact extent of their physical complaints.
Given that Madrid face a crucial trio of upcoming fixtures against Real Mallorca (19 October), Galatasaray (22 October) and Barcelona (26 October), Los Merengues are crossing their fingers that neither issue proves to be serious.