Zidane plays down speculation around Pogba and Bale

Zinedine Zidane has dismissed speculation concerning Gareth Bale and Paul Pogba in the build-up to Real Madrids penultimate LaLiga game of the season at Real Sociedad.Zidane remained tight-lipped over the latest developments involving the Welshman, whom reports suggest will reject a move this summer despite being told he is no longer part of the clubs plans.And Zidane also shrugged off persistent suggestions his club are to launch a bid to prize France star Pogba away from Manchester United.Gareth Bale has struggled to make an impact for Real Madrid this season (Nick Potts/PA)Responding to a question regarding the reported comments made by Bales agent, Zidane told a press conference: I dont want to answer that because Im the Real Madrid coach and hes just doing his job.I need to be thinking about tomorrows game and us performing well. Weve had a good week of preparations and what Im concerned about is that we have a good game to be involved in.On the situation regarding Pogba, Zidane replied: Every coach and football lover likes good players. Hes a Manchester United player and Im not going to discuss signings with you.Zidane, who expects to have Karim Benzema available after injury, also appeared to take a swipe at rivals Barcelona after their midweek Champions League capitulation to Liverpool. Despite insisting rival coach Ernesto Valverde has done a tremendous job with Barca, Zidane stressed his own clubs record of four titles in the competition in the last five seasons.Zidane said: Nobody can take away what we did in the Champions League in the last few years.TheChampions League, as weve seen this year, is really tough. Its a competition where anything can happen. It was a real struggle to win it and thats why we place such value on these four Champions League crowns.He (Valverde) has done a tremendous job so far. Im nobody to say whether it (the criticism) is justified or not. He knows how things work.#Zidane: "Nobody can take what we did in the Champions League in the last few years away from us. The Champions League, as we've seen this year, is really tough''https://t.co/DMajQzbUq6 Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden) May 11, 2019Zidane confirmed French striker Benzema has trained all week with the team and is expected to return to the starting line-up after missing out recent matches due to injury.Meanwhile, Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil knows the importance of Sundays fixture as his side look to leapfrog rivals Athletic Bilbao and put themselves in the frame for European qualification next season.Alguacil said his side are relishing the opportunity of taking on Zidanes men after a frustrating campaign in which injuries to a number of key players have taken their toll.Alguacil told a press conference: For me as a coach, and certainly my players too, we love these kinds of matches because we are always talking about Real Madrid.We have had an irregular and complicated year to do injuries, but I wish every year we had the chance to fight for seventh place with only two matches left to go.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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