Zinedine Zidane revealed early in Real Madrid’s pre-season preparations that Gareth Bale was out of his plan for next season.
However, because of his high annual salary, a potential transfer for the Welsh international was very difficult other teams in Europe to afford. As such, the forward was having a hard time finding a proper transfer destination.
One of the options given to him was to transfer in China super league. However, after a round of negotiations with Jiangsu Suning, the deal fell through and Bale remains a Real Madrid player.
There have been many rumors about why this deal has fallen through. Here are three possible explanations:
Marco Asensio’s Injury
The most likely reason could be attributed to a long-term injury sustained by Marco Asensio.
Zidane usually plays with a top striker in the middle placing creative players on both wings.
Currently, Karim Benzema or Luka Jović are his options in the middle. In the meantime, we have Eden Hazard on the left and Vinícius Júnior on the right.
However, for Real Madrid, there are not many players that can fit in that role, and Asensio was one of those options.
Real has some promising young player, such the newcomers Rodrigo and Vinicius, but we still don’t know if they can be useful though the season. With Asensio injured, it was difficult to let Bale go in this delicate situation.