Audio By Carbonatix
Wales forward Gareth Bale has been left out of Real Madrid’s 24-man squad for the Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Manchester City on Friday.
City won 2-1 in the first leg in Spain in February before the coronavirus pandemic caused the competition to be halted for almost five months.
Bale, 31, has played twice, with only one start, in 11 Real games since football in Spain restarted in June.
The winners of the tie will play either Lyon or Juventus in the quarter-finals.
All the games in the Champions League from the last eight onwards will be played in Portugal over a 12-day period from 12 August with the final on 23 August.
Bale joined Real in a then-world record transfer of £85m from Tottenham in September 2013. He has helped the Spanish champions win the Champions League on four occasions, scoring in the 2014 final against Atletico Madrid, converting a penalty in the shootout against the same side in 2016 and netting twice against Liverpool, including a spectacular bicycle kick, in 2018.
Last summer he was set to move to Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning in a deal worth a reported £1m a week. However, the move fell through when Real Madrid demanded a fee for Bale.
The forward has only started 14 games in all competitions in 2019-20 and looked disinterested in recent weeks, including pretending to be asleep as a substitute as Real went on a 10-game winning run to become Spanish champions.
Latest Stories
-
Ageing and Longevity: Lessons from a 109-year-old
19 minutes -
Gov’t reaffirms commitment to Africa’s digital economy at AIGF launch
19 minutes -
One dead, multiple injured after Russia launches wave of strikes on Ukraine
53 minutes -
Gov’t targets petroleum upstream recovery after five years of consecutive decline
1 hour -
TUC welcomes ICJ ruling affirming workers’ right to strike
2 hours -
NDC teachers launch grassroots political drive in Western North
2 hours -
GN Savings and Loans to reopen first branch in Elmina – Nduom
3 hours -
Mr Eazi’s Zagadat Capital acquires 17.31 per cent stake in Intravenous Infusions PLC
3 hours -
Usyk keeps titles with controversial Verhoeven stoppage
4 hours -
Suspect killed after opening fire on Secret Service near White House
4 hours -
Mahama, Macron push new chapter on reparatory justice
4 hours -
Ghana Institute of Architects cracks down on fake architects and illegal practice
5 hours -
Ghana to destroy over 4,000 illegal weapons in nationwide arms amnesty exercise
5 hours -
Headmen and Queen Mothers meet in Binde to promote lasting peace in Mamprugu Kingdom
6 hours -
Tension in Kasoa: Assembly pulls down shops for 24-hour economy project
6 hours