In the past two years, Gareth Bale has only played eight matches for Real Madrid. Yet, he has still created headline after headline, and not always for positive reasons.
This week, Bale was the centre of attention again as he was caught chuckling when Eden Hazard was told to stop warming up and to return to the bench against Athletic Club. That wasn’t the first time that the Welshman has drawn the ire of Real Madrid fans while sitting on the bench, so here comes a look at five examples of when his antics on the sidelines caused controversy.
Seeing the funny side as Hazard sits down
This week’s episode came during the second half of Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey trip to Bilbao, where they ultimately lost 1-0. In the second half, it appeared that Eden Hazard was going to be introduced, but then Carlo Ancelotti told the Belgian that he wouldn’t be needed and that he should stop warming up. As the former Chelsea man returned to the bench, Bale saw the funny side and soon saw his name back in the headlines.
Nap time against Alavés
At the end of the 2019/20 season, as football returned from the coronavirus lockdown, Bale hardly featured on Real Madrid’s road to the title. In one game against Alavés, he was seen using his facemask over his eyes as he seemingly dozed off, which wasn’t a great look.
His eyes were back open against Granada
Days after that Alavés game, Real Madrid went away to Granada and Bale was once again left on the bench. This time he was wide awake, almost too awake. The Welshman was very active on the makeshift bench in the stands of Granada’s stadium, making binoculars with his hands to again catch the photographers’ attention without stepping onto the pitch.
Laughing with Kroos during a defeat
While some of Bale’s sideline antics have come during the coronavirus era, often in empty stadiums where it’s easier to be distracted, he was creating controversy even before then. In the final match of the 2018/19 campaign, as Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 home defeat against Real Betis, Bale and Kroos were spotted sharing a joke in the dugout with their team trailing by two.
Leaving the stadium early
Even when Bale hasn’t even made it to the bench, he has still on occasion managed to anger Madridistas. During the 2018/19 season, Spanish TV show El Chiringuito started monitoring when the players left out of the matchday squad were clocking out and leaving the stadium. The fact that Bale departed in the 78th minute of a Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad game in which his side were trailing 1-0 did not go down well.