Real Madrid news: "It's clear", Zinedine Zidane on dropping Gareth Bale once again from the squad

What’s the story?

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane once again dropped Gareth Bale from the squad for his side's La Liga game against Real Sociedad last night, despite the Welshman being fully fit. Zidane later suggested that dropping Bale was a clear message for the forward.

In case you didn’t know..

This season has been a disaster for Real Madrid. Last summer saw Cristiano Ronaldo leave the club for Juventus, while Zidane also stepped down from his post. Although Los Blancos started the season positively, they were brutally exposed mid-way and had to sack two managers - Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari. To bring things into balance, club president Florentino Perez had to get Zidane back.

The heart of the matter

Real Madrid visited Anoeta to face Real Sociedad in the penultimate game of their league campaign last night. Despite starting the game positively as they took the lead early on through Brahim Diaz's impressive solo run, Los Blancos were beaten 3-1.

In his post match interview, Zidane was asked if Bale's exclusion from the squad was a warning or a signal, and the Frenchman replied:

"It's clear what I've done this weekend.

"We'll see what I do next week and what happens next year.

"He's fine physically."

In a season where Bale was supposed to shine and lead the Real Madrid team, following Ronaldo's departure, he has failed to live up to the promise.

What's next?

It remains to be seen if Bale remains at Real Madrid beyond the season. The 29-year-old has managed 42 appearances in all competitions in the present campaign, scoring 14 times and setting up six goals. It's still unclear whether he will feature in Real Madrid's final game of the season against Real Betis on Sunday.