"There's no relationship between Bale and Zidane, there never has been"

"It's simple: Zidane doesn't like Gareth. There's no relationship between them, there never has been," said the footballer's representative in an interview to French newspaper 'Le Journal du Dimanche'. This represents yet another attack to the Fench coach by Bale's agent, who's had his fair share of complaints about his client's treatment. 

Zidane and Bale's divorce is public and irreconcileable, even though it had initially appeared to have calmed down last summer in the Santiago Bernabeu, but the situation only worsened after the French coach's surprise comeback to the Spanish giants.

Zidane's arrival was praised by many, but certainly not Bale, who knew what it could mean for his playing time. And his fears were indeed confirmed towards the end of the season, where he was benched at multiple occasions in what may have been his last few games as a Real Madrid player. A war of words and actions started, with Bale constantly threatening to keep his multi-million dollar deal in the end and having his agent repeatedly state he would be staying around. 

Under this conflictive climate, the Santiago Bernabéu board began to accept the idea that Bale could potentially end up staying, accepting his situation and playing time. However, Zidane surprised many by leaving him out of the preseason game against Bayern Munich, the first pre-season commitment Real Madrid were tasked upon. 

In the press room, the French coach vehemently stated that it was the player himself, through his agent, who asked not to play, because he was negotiating his transfer to a Chinese team. A statement that angered Jonathan Barnett and the player's entourage. 

"If Gareth Bale leaves it will be because it is in his best interest and it has nothing to do with Zidane or Real Madrid pushing him. Zidane is ungrateful, shows no respect for a player who has done so much for Real Madrid," he said, clearly hurt.

Although the Welshman did participate against Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, English newspaper The Daily Mirror has claimed that Jiangsu Suning's plan is to sign Gareth Bale, but to have him continue playing in Europe in the ranks of Antonio Conte's Inter Milan, a club owned by the electricity retailer.

It wouldn't be the first time that a major operation as such has taken place. Jiangsu Suning has already done so with Trent Sainsbury, whom they sent on loan to Inter Milan. The opposite path has also been followed. In fact, this summer Joao Miranda signed for the Chinese team.