I really love Zidane but what he said about Bale was just plain disrespectful in my opinion? Like you can have an opinion about a player but keep it to yourself. I understand now why there are so many people who don't like Real Madrid. It's because we don't respect our players and honestly they're een right
I donāt think that the way Zidane is handling this, or the way he said what he did yesterday, should be attributed to either the club or the fans, or has any bearing on ifĀ āweā respect our players, though I know it will be taken that way. But the word choice, the unvarnished bluntness, came from Zizou, not the club as a whole. And just in general, I find it annoying how people that hate Real Madrid get off on it so hard, and act like repeatingĀ ādisgusting club, look how they treat their legendsā over and over again is some kind of proof of their own moral or ethical superiority. If that were really the case, I think a lot fewer of our legends would be working for the club so prominently (like RaĆŗl, or ButragueƱo) or doing things like celebrating Zidane returning to Real Madrid and saying that they will one day go back as well (like Iker). Or all the former players you see just at games, taking part in club events, etcāHierro, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldo Nazario, the list goes on.Ā
Anyway, back to Zidane. I donāt like how this was done, and I think overall it cast a pall on just sitting back and enjoying a preseason friendly against a good opponent. Lately, though, the news out of Spain has been that the club was trying to get him to reintegrate Bale into the squad in light of the fact that he wasnāt leaving (as well as accept that Pogba was not happening this summer). I think this statement was in response to that. I donāt think he needed to say anything at all in public, especially not to the press. Having Bale not dress for the game took things too far, and all of this talk couldāve continued happening out of the mediaās eye. Iām very, very sure that the club itself and Perez wouldāve preferred it that way. But thatās not how Zidane feltāhe often talks about how he values honestly and directness. And, well, this was certainly honest and direct.Ā
On our end, as fans, we do need to do a better job in terms of how we talk about Bale, though. There are a lot of reasons to be frustrated with him, and having his agent go out and talk the way he has (fun note, Barnett has just publicly called Zidane aĀ ādisgraceā) hasnāt helped anyone. But thereās no need to pop champagne bottles when a player who helped make club history is leaving. Celebrating the big moments he gave the club as recently as a year ago and then acting like he personally took a shit on Santiago BernabĆ©uās grave is ridiculous. That part is on fans, whereas Zidaneās words to the press arenāt.Ā
