Gareth Bale urged to take note of Zinedine Zidane’s ‘statement’ and prepare for change at Real Madrid

Frank Lampard believes that Zinedine Zidane’s decision to leave Gareth Bale on the substitutes’ bench for Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final victory over Bayern Munich was a “statement” that shows change will be coming at the end of the season, with the former Tottenham forward heading for the Bernabeu exit.

The Wales international, once the most expensive player in world football following his £86m move to Madrid, was spotted glumly looking on from the Allianz Arena dugout as Zidane elected not to use him in the biggest game of Real’s season so far.

With Madrid looking to win the Champions League for a third consecutive year, Zidane knows that European success if potentially the only thing that will save his job this season, given that his side are 15 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona who could wrap up the title on Sunday.

Bale has fuelled reports that he could leave Spain in the summer by refusing to rule out a move to their semi-final opponents Bayern, and after being left out of Wednesday night’s first leg, Bale was urged to consider his options by three past Premier League greats.

“I think statement is a good word because sometimes if the club is moving in the one direction, they keep him on the bench, bringing the young players on, it’s a statement to say in the summer that things are going to change,” Lampard said on BT Sport.

Bale was left out of the starting line-up for the 2-1 victory as Zidane preferred to start Spanish pair Isco and Lucas Vazquez, with the former being replaced at half-time by eventual match-winner Marco Asensio and both Matteo Kovacic and Karim Benzema being sent on instead of the Welshman.

For Bale, it is a blow ahead of what could be a third consecutive Champions League final and a fourth in five years.

In the 2013/14 final, Bale started for Real and scored the extra-time header that broke Atletico’s resilience and paved the way to the famous La Decima triumph. He also started the 2015/16 final, but saw his place in the starting line-up go to Isco the following year and only came on for the final 13 minutes of Real’s 4-1 victory over Juventus, when the Spanish side were already 3-1 ahead.

Ex-England captain Rio Ferdinand believes that the decision to send players on such as Asensio and Kovacic, with Isco and Lucas Vazquez starting ahead of him, is a fairly ominous sign. “One thing we were all talking about here in the studio before the game finished, making those substitutions and Gareth Bale doesn’t get on the pitch is a huge statement.”

Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool and England skipper, echoed Ferdinand’s thoughts. “The thing is as well, he is bringing Benzema on before him and Benzema is offering zero. So that’s another concern for him,” he said.

The comments come after Bale refused to rule out a summer departure, with Bayern believed to be considering Bale as a replacement option for Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben, who are both in the twilight of their careers and have been plagued by injury problems in recent years.

“You can never rule out anything in football,” Bale told German newspaper Bild. “Currently, I play football at Real Madrid and I enjoy that.

“Bayern have a fantastic squad and already in the past they have always been one of the most successful clubs in Europe.

“It’s an honour for everyone to be linked with this club. But as of now I am a Real Madrid player.”