Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has found himself in the middle of a battle of wills between president Florentino Perez and coach Zinedine Zidane.

Ceballos, a star for Real Betis and Spain U21 this year, has seen his progress stall since joining Real in August.

The midfielder has been missing for the past two LaLiga games and had only a handful of minutes for the Champions League win at APOEL.

Diario Gol says the trouble for Ceballos is that he was signed without Zidane's approval. The midfielder was a personal deal for Perez, which has left Zidane unimpressed.

Indeed, it's suggested Zidane did not want the deal to be done at all - and Ceballos is now suffering because of it.