Zidane reveals he had no intention of giving Bale farewell appearance

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Zinedine Zidane is pleased to see the back of this Real Madrid season but the curtain fell on the term after another disappointing home defeat to Real Betis.

Madrid end the season as third place finishers in LaLiga Santander, having lost 12 times over the course of the campaign.

“It’s not that we didn’t want to win it, clearly,” Zidane said post-match.

“It’s that we couldn’t win. The best thing that can happen for us is to have [the season] over now and to think about next year as this will change, for sure.

“It’s complicated, but we have to accept that the season has been bad. It has been difficult from the start of the season, and the end with me; that is the reality.”

The Frenchman continue to promise that things would change next year but stopped short of guaranteeing silverware.

“We must think now about next year, and exciting our fans again,” he explained.

“We are going to prepare the pre-season very well. We will not say that we will win everything next year, but we will compete from the first moment, and be up there battling with the others.”

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Keylor Navas and Gareth Bale are expected to leave this summer and while the goalkeeper was given a farewell appearance, the Welshman was left on the bench, but Zidane doesn’t know what their futures hold.

“We will see [if Bale continues],” he said.

“I don’t know what will happen, truthfully. I have counted on other players lately, that is clear for my part. If I had another change today, the same would have happened.

“I have to look at the day to day and make decisions. And when there is something I do not like, or does not fit for me, I must do what I think best.

“It might be difficult for the player who has won a lot here, but the day to day is the day to day.”

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