Mourinho vs Casillas, Guardiola vs Zlatan... Ugly break ups like Zidane & Bale

The awkward situation facing Zinedine Zidane with Gareth Bale is nothing new in the world of football and the French coach is just the latest to have to take a tough decision with a talented player.

Some past cases have seen divorces, while in others the relationships have continued despite their difficulties.

We have compiled a list of some of those cases which preceded Zidane and Bale.

Santiago Solari's issues with Isco and Marcelo

In October 2018 the Argentine arrived at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu with some clear ideas. After stepping up from Castilla, he pushed Vinicius Junior and Sergio Reguilon into the first team, with Marcelo and Isco suffering more than anyone else as a result.

The Spaniard considered leaving had he stayed in charge, while the Brazilian recognised that there were some problems there.

Jose Mourinho and Iker Casillas: Another stir at the Bernabeu

The Portuguese and goalkeeper had a stormy relationship in the capital, all starting with some words from Sara Carbonero who wasn't keen on Mourinho and the coach dropped her husband to the bench with Antonio Adan stepping up and Diego Lopez then taking over.

"If it happened now, I'd face up to him," Casillas told Universo Valdano years later, "but at that time I decided to stay quiet as I though that was how to honour the values of the club."

In his spell at the club, Mourinho also made Pedro Leon disappear from sight.

Zidane and James Rodriguez is nothing new

James arrived in 2014 and was almost always an important player until ZIdane's 2016 appointment. The coach wanted a 4-3-3 and with the BBC forming the frontline, there was no place for the Colombian.

Diego Forlan's darts at Quique Sanchez Flores

The coach and forward had their ups and downs in Madrid and they divided the dressing room and even expressed their issues publicly.

"Quique had a personal problem with me and he showed it," the Uruguayan said to Al Primer Toque.

"He's gone through a lot of team and has had problems, but I was also wrong with my attitude.

"Everyone knows who he is and who I am. I've had a lot of coaches and never had a problem with any of them."

Steven Gerrard's ego frustrated Rafa Benitez

Rafa Benitez's time at Liverpool was incredible, but it did have its negatives. The Spaniard had friction with the iconic Reds midfielder. The now Rangers boss also recounted a story in his autobiography of a call Benitez made to his mother to ask if Gerrard enjoyed money.

Luis Aragones' distancing of Raul from the national team

Raul was a Real Madrid icon, as he was with the national team, but when playing for his country he never lifted the honours that he did with his club. The coach later acknowledged that he removed him from contention, but denied any problems and explained his decisions were purely performance-based.

The forward was demoted to substitute at the 2006 World Cup, and that brought an end to his international career. In 102 games for Spain he netted 44 times.

Marcelo Bielsa and Fernando Llorente

The Argentine went as far as to kick Llorente out of a training session due to his attitude, explaining that the forward wasn't committing enough.

Pep Guardiola's complications

Whether it's Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Deco, Samuel Eto'o or Joe Hart, many of Pep's ex players have seen his nasty side.

The case with the English goalkeeper was apparently his toughest, as he himself explained, due to the player's professionalism in his reaction.

Unsurprisingly, Ibrahimovic was the player who fought back the most, and he claims that the coach decided to stop speaking to him, which he still holds against the Catalan.