Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 5y

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari and Gareth Bale could leave Bernabeu - John Toshack

Former Real Madrid manager John Toshack has told ESPN FC he does not expect Santiago Solari to be in charge next season and said Gareth Bale could also leave.

Toshack won the 1989-90 La Liga title during his first spell in charge but was sacked the following season, with his second spell, in 1999, lasting nine months.

The former Liverpool and Wales forward, promoting his autobiography "Toshack's Way," told ESPN FC he felt Solari's only chance of staying was to win the Champions League.

"Solari has gone in there with no managerial experience at this level, coming from the second team," he said. "There are doubts already.

"They were unbeaten in six games then lost 3-0 at little Basque club Eibar, and there was already talk about new people coming in.

"More than anywhere else, the pressure, the coverage, the press, radio, everything, is really intense at Madrid.

"Solari has got to get them moving up the league pretty quickly, and if he can do the business in the Champions League there is a possibility he would stay. But I don't think he will be in charge next season."

Toshack suggested previous coach Julen Lopetegui had been pushed out for "political" reasons, with Solari a "stopgap."

"Lopetegui was a player for me my first time at Madrid," he said. "I know him very well.

"It is just the way things go. Madrid is very special and, when they made the change, they felt they had to do something. It was a little bit of a stopgap thing. It is all very political.

"They are going to be looking for another manager now if things do not go well for Solari. I get the feeling they are already looking for someone to go in afterwards."

But he expressed doubts that Solari could be replaced by former Madrid boss Jose Mourinho if he leaves Manchester United.

"Strange things can happen at Madrid, but it is very difficult for a manager to turn Madrid down," he said. "I'm not so sure it would be Mourinho, to be honest."

Toshack, who gave Bale his Wales debut at the age of 16 in 2006, said he felt the former Spurs player could be on the move and added that injuries "have held him back."

"It is very difficult, at the top level, to be out for such a long time, it takes time to come back in, and then he seems to be hit by another injury," he said.

"There is a little bit of negativity about Gareth and his future at Madrid now, frustration at the lack of games he has played. I get the feeling that there will be quite a few changes at the end of this season.

"But look at all the things he has won -- four Champions Leagues. They will never be able to take that away from him. Given the problems he has had, it is even more incredible what he has managed to achieve."

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