Gareth Bale refused to be drawn on a question regarding whether new Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui is better than his predecessor, Zinedine Zidane.

Bale was often left frustrated under Zidane over selection, with the Welshman often missing out on the starting XI even when fit under the club legend.

The 29-year-old was left out of the starting line-up for last season’s Champions League final, though he came on to score two decisive goals as a substitute, including a stunning overhead kick, but his relationship with Zidane was almost certainly leading to a Real Madrid exit for the player until the Frenchman’s shock resignation for the summer.

“I’m not sure I want to respond to whether I think Julen is better than Zidane,” he told the Daily Mail.

Bale did say that being able to communicate with Lopetegui in English has helped, however, after starting the new season in fine form for Los Merengues.

“Obviously, it helps. I can speak in Spanish, but maybe I won’t need to go into the amount of detail I normally would,”

The winger also lifted the lid on how another summer departure, that of Cristiano Ronaldo, has changed the club.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a little different, it’s going to be a little more relaxed,” Bale explained.

“I guess it will be more about the team, working more like a unit than concentrating on a single player.”