From ignoring medical advice on injuries and his lack of effort to integrate, to his recent snub of Lucas Vazquez, the Welshman never stops creating problems for himself.
From his controversial gesture to Atlético fans at the Wanda Metropolitano to his snub of team mate Lucas Vazquez against Levante, Gareth Bale has created a number of problems for himself in recent weeks.
Since his arrival at Real Madrid in August 2013, the Welshman has often found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Despite the important goals he has scored and titles he has won, he has never been able to win over the coaches, fans and media at the same time. And his behaviour and attitude have never done him any favours in that regard.
Talks of selling Bale have emerged over the past couple of summers but the sale has never happened. And that has had one particularly important consequence: the halt of Kylian Mbappé’s move to the Bernabéu from Monaco in 2017.
That summer, Madrid had come to an agreement with Monaco to sign the young French starlet for 200 million euros. But Mbappé and his camp stopped the deal going through once they realised the situation that what awaited him.
The club maintained that the deal fell through because the then-18 year old was demanding too much money (12 million euros a year). But later the real reason came to light: Florentino Perez was unwilling to sell Bale to Manchester United, who were eager to sign the Welshman. With Bale staying, Mbappé knew he would play second fiddle to Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo – the so-called ‘bbC’ attacking trio – and therefore put a stop to the move. In the end, the hottest young property in French football opted to stay in France, moving to Monaco’s Ligue 1 rivals, PSG.
Injuries and integration – Bale’s biggest issues
If anything has marked Bale’s time at Real Madrid it has been injuries. The 29-year-old has suffered 22 injuries since his arrival at the Bernabéu, eight of which have occurred in his left calf muscle. His lack of consideration for the advice of Madrid’s medical team has been a constant issue: he has travelled back to Wales on several occasions despite being injured; and has not reduced the amount of time he spends playing his beloved golf, which carries risks for his back.
The other great issue that has surrounded Bale has been his lack of integration: he barely speaks Spanish despite having lived in Spain for almost six years (John Toshack, the man who handed him his debut for Wales, recently said he should learn the language as a “mark of respect”), and hardly ever attends dinners and meet-ups organised by the team.
But despite all of the issues, he was always a starter for Carlos Ancelotti and Rafa Benítez, as well for Zidane until the French coach’s last season. His frustrations over the loss of his starting place last season culminated with his post-match comments following the Champions League final: “I have to talk to my agent; I need to play more minutes,” was his thinly veiled threat in Kiev.
It is clear that the Welshman does not take well to being dropped. If Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius continue to keep him out of Santiago Solari’s starting eleven, perhaps he’ll be threatening to call his agent once again.
inoculate
58
Bale has won 4 CL's since joining Real and played a big part in 2 of those (2 MotM performances in four of the finals) and scored an awesome goal against Barca to win Real their last CDR. Also, lead Wales on a memorable run to the semi's in their first ever tournament. Basically, he's the GOAT Welsh, an a big part of Real's CL dominance this decade. I think he's done pretty damn good. Bale's a top 5 player when fit and in form it's just his injuries have taken a big chunk of his career unfortunately.
outdoora
50
The problem with Bale is that he just does not care. Bale does not care to learn Spanish, he does not care to integrate with the team. He obviously has the talent and showcases it at times, especially in the finals. But, why doesn't he do it in less important games. Against Girona, Ajax, Real Sociedad, Villareal... He literally does not contribute to anything in either attack or defense in those games. You can see him just wandering aimlessly on the field. There was once where Madrid were going on a counter, and a ball was passed to him, yet he was busy fixing his hair. Say what you want about Vazquez, but you know he will always give 100% when he is playing, and that is why coaches like him. Ancelloti was let go because of the Bale issue, Benitez came in and right at the start he said he will have Bale play more centrally, and was one his downfalls. With Zidane, he was starting to loose his place again. Zidane knew there will be problems with Bale again after Bale went public after the CL final. With Ronaldo leaving, Zidane knew would not be able to control it; so he resigned. Solari is also leaving Bale out know, and I think Perez is starting to realize that Bale is no longer worth the trouble, especially with Vinicius emerging. He is allowing Solari continue with it, and Bale does not like it.
Anniballi
47
Poor Bale, guy has done wonders for Real Madrid, his stats are insane for them. Just because Ronaldo and Messi are doing crazy numbers he isn't talked about, then he will have a bad game and be hounded for it. However one thing i cannot defend is if he genuinely doesn't know the language yet. When you push for a move to Real Madrid like he did as he could have went to Yanited etc in England, but still doesn't know the language that is shocking. If he is genuinely unhappy then he will be gone in the summer as it helps open up funds for Real to buy anyway.
happylife
47
I feel as if the majority of his time at Madrid will be looked back at as a "what could have been" period instead of "what was" and it sucks. He's obviously a world class player who's been unlucky for years now. Injuries and having to play second and third fiddle this whole time couldn't have been in his mind when he joined Madrid. I think his time is coming to a close in Spain and that he has one more big club left in him to really cement his career. I'd love to see Bale as the main man at a large club and be able to keep healthy for 2 or 3 seasons.