But Ancelotti has now claimed Bale’s selfishness on the pitch cost him his job in charge of Madrid.
Ancelotti was at Madrid between 2013-2015, winning the Champions League in 2014, but he was still given the bullet and replaced by Rafa Benitez.
“If there is something that drives me crazy, it is selfishness. When a player has to pass the ball and does not pass it,” Ancelotti told Il Napolista .
“I paid for that in the first person. At Madrid, I took off Bale in a game against Valencia. He had to pass the ball to [Karim] Benzema, who would have scored into an empty goal, but instead of that, he shot [and missed].
Gareth Bale has been in and out of the Real Madrid side this term (Image: GETTY)
“It was the reason that triggered an argument with Florentino, I took him off and the mess began there.”
Ancelotti is now in charge of Napoli, who are riding high in second place in Serie A, behind only Juventus.
They beat Parma 4-0 this weekend while Madrid are in action against Levante.
Bale’s struggles have seen him dropped to the bench by Santiago Solari.
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