Rewind to the days when Zinedine Zidane was frequently questioned about the inclusion of Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. More often, the critics of Real Madrid used to say that Zidane is not doing justice with the abovementioned players but Dani Ceballos as well. In the end, they left Real Madrid and joined the English Premier League.
Now come back to the present time and judge the state of the players who were portrayed as the victims of Zidane’s ignorance – what do you see? You cannot but come to the conclusion that they were never up to the mark to play for Real Madrid and for which, Zidane never considered them – he invested faith in those who prove worthy enough in the long run.
Marca stated about the players’ current situation in their report:
Ceballos: Benched at Arsenal
The young midfielder has excellent technical qualities and Mikel Arteta wanted him to dictate the tempo of his Arsenal team, however, the Gunners are enduring a rocky start to the season and the 24-year-old Spaniard has been unable to steer them to safety.
Curiously, Arsenal's reaction came on Saturday in a 3-1 win over Chelsea, with Ceballos an unused substitute.
If Arteta sticks to his newfound winning formula then Ceballos could have his work cut out to get back in his plans, which won't help him work his way into Zidane's thoughts for next season either.
Los Blancos have an eye on Ceballos' progress as he will return from his loan in the summer, but with Luka Modric's renewal and the possibility of other signings things aren't looking good for the former Real Betis man.
James: From heaven to hell
James Rodriguez introduced himself to the Premier League in spectacular fashion. He could have wished for no better figure than Carlo Ancelotti to take him under his wing and give him his confidence back and the Colombian responded with goals and assists that had Everton flying high in the early part of the campaign.
In recent weeks, however, James has seen a dip in form, coinciding with poor results with his national team, and has been struggling with injuries he can't quite get over.
The criticism now coming his way in England and the question marks over his consistency highlight why Zidane chose to show the Colombian the door!
Bale: Still injury prone
The Welshman arrived at Spurs injured and that already caused doubts to emerge, concerns which proved to be well-founded as Bale hasn't been able to make himself a regular in Jose Mourinho's side, which will have frustrated both of them.
Bale has scored in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup, and the Europa League, but only once in each competition, and his performances have been below the level expected of him when he arrived.
The 31-year-old picked up another injury in the Europa League and it is not yet known when he will return.
Further uncertainty lies in his Real Madrid future, with his value having dropped even lower during this loan spell in North London.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 28/12/2020 Zidane was right
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