Having won the La Liga title and still in with a shout at Champions League glory, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everything was rosy in the Real Madrid garden.
However, Zinedine Zidane does have a thorny issue to deal with, and it’s a problem that doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
As we’ve gone deeper and deeper into the season, Gareth Bale has been seen less and less on the pitch, with the Frenchman not even selecting the Welsh flyer in the squad for their final day trip to Leganes.
With two years left on his contract, Bale is, apparently, quite happy to see out the remainder of his time in Madrid, and that will surely cause consternation at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“Zidane doesn’t want to coach Bale, but he has two years left on his contract, is very happy living in Madrid and he isn’t going anywhere,” Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, explained in an interview with the BBC.
“Bale is as good as his teammates, but this is a decision taken by Zidane.
“There is no hatred from Bale and he isn’t trying to survive Zidane, he is simply training well every day, but Zidane, who has been successful, doesn’t want to use him.
“Zidane is ungrateful, Bale is a great loss to the team but he isn’t leaving.
“The reality is that the current situation in the market makes it very difficult for the player to leave.
“Of course, there has been interest from some teams, Bale is one of the best players in the world, but the best players in the world don’t move on loan.
“There aren’t many teams that can afford to sign him.”
It’s a soap opera that does neither party any favours whatsoever.
Zidane is depriving himself of the talents of a player that he knows can be a game-changer, whilst Bale is letting his career amble along when he could be setting a top European league alight elsewhere.