Zinedine Zidane has revealed Gareth Bale expressed a desire not to be included in Real Madrid's squad to face Manchester City in the Champions League.
The Welshman was a notable absentee from Madrid's travelling squad ahead of the second-leg. Madrid captain Sergio Ramos is suspended for the game but travelled to Manchester to provide support to his teammates.
Bale came off the bench for Madrid in the first-leg and has proven to be a valuable option in the Champions League for Zidane, scoring two goals as a substitute in the 2018 final win against Liverpool.
His future at Madrid remains unclear and Zidane has revealed it was Bale's decision not to be involved in the match day squad.
"People say a lot of things but we have respect between manager and player," he said during his pre-match press conference.
"It's clear that the only thing, and this is a personal conversation I've had with him, he preferred not to play.
"The rest remains between me and him but he said he didn't want to play."
When pressed for more details on Bale's absence, Zidane refused to comment.
He added: "I answered before to say what the situation was and I don't want to add anything else. The rest is a private conversation between player and coach.
"That's it, nothing else. I really respect Gareth and all the other players and things which are in the dressing room stay in the dressing room between players and staff.
"He's our player. I respect him like everyone else. He preferred not to play, that's all I can tell you. The rest of us are all here ready to prepare for tomorrow night's game and the only thing we're concentrating on is the game tomorrow night."
