PARIS, France, September 8 – Real Madrid assistant coach Zinedine Zidane dubbed the astronomical transfer fee his club paid for Wales winger Gareth Bale “incomprehensible” in the current economic climate.
Bale signed for the Spanish giants from Tottenham Hotspur last week on a six-year contract for a fee of around £80 million ($124 million, 94 million euros).
Asked whether Bale was worth the hefty fee paid for him, ex-France playmaker Zidane replied: “You need to ask that question in a year’s time.
“Ten years ago, they bought me for 75 million euros and I said I wasn’t worth it,” Zidane told Sunday’s Canal Football Club television programme.
“Today, I tend to say a player is not worth that. Two clubs agree on a price and no-one is forcing the other to do anything.
“That’s football. Unfortunately, it’s incomprehensible with what’s happening today to pay so much.”
Zidane said he would offer Bale some advice as the Welshman seeks to hold down a place in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
“My role will certainly be to tell him that he plays as he knows how to, to not put too much pressure on himself,” he said.
“He has an incredible potential but he still has room for improvement.”
Bale, who is currently on international duty with Wales, is expected to make his Real debut against Villarreal on September 14.
