Bale’s move to Real Madrid has not work out

Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale has come in for criticism this season from both media and fans alike

There seems to be a growing feeling that Gareth Bale’s stay at Real Madrid is becoming an increasingly uncomfortable one.

The Welshman joined Los Blancos in the summer of 2013 from Tottenham in a world-record £86million move.

His first campaign in the Spanish capital was deemed a success by many, as he helped the club capture ‘La Decima’ (tenth European Cup).

Shadow

However, there was always the thought that the former-Southampton star was in the shadow of Ballon D’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, as most players are, but it seems that Bale has not been able to shine because of Ronaldo’s ego and character.

Bale was always going to face that problem at Real Madrid. The Portuguese international is the star of the show at the Spanish giants and nobody is allowed to upstage him.

Bale is a strong character, but he is younger and less experienced than Ronaldo, despite his mega price tag he is not Ronaldo and will never reach the heights of the former-Manchester United forward in the Spanish capital.

The 30-year-old will go down as one of the greatest ever players the world has ever seen, but will also go down as one of the biggest egos the game has ever seen. Bale was always going to struggle with comparisons.

Criticism

Gareth Bale has come in for some heavy criticism this season from both the Spanish media and Madridista’s themselves. He has failed to perform to the best of his ability and certainly has not looked like a player who cost a world record fee.

Teammates

According to his agent Jonathan Barrett, Bale is not being helped by his teammates because they are not passing him the ball enough. Bale covered more ground than any player in the Champions League semi-final first leg 2-1 defeat by Juventus, yet only had 32 touches of the ball compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s 101 touches.

Barrett told the Telegraph Sport: “We’ve been vindicated by these statistics and it’s what we’ve been saying all along,”

“It proves that people don’t know what they’re talking about when they criticise Gareth, they are not looking at it properly.

“Real have to work with Gareth and pass the ball to him more. Give him more of the ball and let him show everybody what he’s good at. He’s going to be the best player at Real Madrid when his team-mates work with him and help him. Hopefully Real will come to terms with this.

“I’m very upset that professional pundits don’t realise these facts. Instead of criticising, they should look at it more closely because it’s plain to see when you watch the games.”

Quality

Without a doubt Gareth Bale is a quality footballer and is a top professional that is why he has not caused a furore about not getting much of the ball. Everybody connected with the Welshman claims he is not going to leave the Spanish capital, but at the moment he does not look happy.

Bale seems like the sort of guy who needs to be content and needs to be loved to produce his best form. He showed during his time at Tottenham that if people have belief in him then he can be a match winner it is as simple as that.

However, Real Madrid is a club of politics and egos. Spanish football clubs, especially Real seem to be a different world to those of big British clubs. Maybe it is not the environment where a player like Gareth Bale can thrive. One thing is for sure he cannot thrive if he has never got the ball.

Wanted

Bale’s agent has stated that he is determined to stay in the Spanish capital this summer, but if he was made available there would be a queue of big clubs lining up to sign the former-Tottenham star.

Chelsea and Manchester United have been mooted as potential destinations for Bale this summer, with United 7/2 favourites to sign Bale this summer. I would imagine most United fans would not turn their noses up at the possibility of signing the Welshman.

However, the impending arrival of Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven this summer is likely to scupper any move for Bale, as he also operates on the left-wing.

Career

Gareth Bale may be determined to prove his worth at Real Madrid, but it seems that because of the nature of the club he has not found his best form.

At 25 he still has plenty of time to prove a success at Real, but like anybody he would be far happier at a club where he is appreciated and loved. Instead he seems to be at a club where he seems to be ignored by his teammates and slaughtered by his own fans.

Bale is a good player, but it appears from the outside that the move to Real Madrid has turned sour and I believe he should now be looking at becoming successful elsewhere.

Should Gareth Bale leave Real Madrid this summer?