GARETH BALE HAS been left out of Real Madrid’s Audi Cup squad following the collapse of his move to the Chinese Super League.
The Wales international looked set to join Jiangsu Suning after his relationship with coach Zinedine Zidane appeared to have broken beyond repair.
That deal fell through on Sunday, however, with Madrid’s board reportedly unhappy at the lack of transfer fee involved, while some outlets suggested Bale pulled out over family concerns regarding the move to China.
Bale was in pre-season training with Madrid on Monday but worked away from the rest of the squad, while agent Jonathan Barnett confirmed he is likely to remain at the club for the 2019-20 campaign.
Zidane has left him out of the squad for the tournament in Munich, though, which means a reunion with former club – and potential suitors – Tottenham on Tuesday has been scuppered.
There is no place in the squad for Thibaut Courtois either, with Los Blancos confirming he has suffered a grade two ankle sprain.
Belgium international Courtois played the first half of his side’s 7-3 International Champions Cup thumping by city rivals Atletico Madrid on Friday.
He was replaced at half-time by Keylor Navas, who was Courtois’ understudy for much of last season, having previously helped the club to win three consecutive Champions League titles.
The Costa Rica international only made 10 La Liga starts for the club in the 2018-19 campaign, but with no timescale put on Courtois’ return he will hope to stake a permanent claim for the number one spot.
Eder Militao, Casemiro and James Rodriguez also miss the trip to Munich having begun their pre-season preparations on Monday.
