CARLO ANCELOTTI HAS hit out at Gareth Bale ‘s agent in the wake of the latter’s claims that Real Madrid’s players are refusing to pass to the Welshman.
The 25-year-old has been struggling to find his best form in 2014-15 and has received his fair share of criticism in recent weeks following some disappointing performances.
Bale was criticised heavily in particular after a lacklustre display in the first leg of Madrid’s Champions League semi-final against Juventus last week, with the former Tottenham man having fewer touches of the ball than goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 2-1 defeat in Turin.
The winger’s representative had since alleged that the 25-year-old’s colleagues are deliberately ignoring him, but Ancelotti has laughed off any such claims.
“Bale’s agent has never seen a training session and does not know anything about Bale’s relationship with his team-mates,” the Blancos boss said at a press conference on Tuesday.
“Bale likes his team-mates and his team-mates like Bale. It would have been had his agent kept quiet. I really don’t know what he was trying to achieve because Bale is happy at Madrid.
“We are happy with Bale this season. I spoke with him and he is happy to be here. Last season he scored in decisive matches and he could do it again.”
Meanwhile, James Rodriguez has also dismissed suggestions that the Real Madrid players are deliberately snubbing Bale.
“This is the first time I hear about it that we do not want to pass the ball to Bale,” James told reporters.
“We are all happy to play with Gareth. With him and with anybody else in this team.
“We are a team and we have to be united.”
The Colombia international then went on to stress that he is content to play wherever Ancelotti needs him, be that in midfield or in attack.
“I’m happy to be playing well and helping the team. Wherever the coach puts me to play I will give my best to help the team.”
Madrid need to overturn a 2-1 first-leg defeat when they host Juventus on Wednesday and James is hopeful they can make it to the final in Berlin.
“They played well [in the first leg], but tomorrow will be a beautiful test for us. It wil be an epic game,” he added.
“My dream is to be in the Champions League final. We have to do our best to win [the second leg].
“We have to play with intensity. We have be focused and try to score when we create openings. However, we must be patient – we have players who can score.”
