He has found in the last 12 months, though, that life with Real Madrid isn’t like anywhere else at all. A defining goal in the Champions League final? A stunning effort to beat Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final? It stands for nothing if the locals - who love to find a scapegoat - turn on you.
And that is what has happened to Bale. Watching from the sidelines on Wednesday night, as Juventus destroyed Real’s hopes of retaining the Champions League, I saw a player who was timid and lacking confidence. The spark that made him so scintillating to watch had gone
To get it back, he should return to the Barclays Premier League this summer. Never mind what some people are saying about sticking it out in Spain for the sake of British football - this is about a young lad’s career. He would not be taking the easy way out. Who benefits from him being unhappy?
Follow The Next Page To See What Madrid Did To Great Bale After Complain
A move home would make sense on a number of levels, not least as while Cristiano Ronaldo is there, scoring a goal per game and dominating the agenda, Bale - no matter what he does, not even after a debut campaign that included 22 goals and 17 assists - is in a fight he will struggle to win.
Ronaldo does not want to be upstaged and will always be Real’s main man. I don’t know him but I don’t get the sense he is putting an arm around Bale’s shoulder or looking after him in the dressing room. Why? Look at how he sulked when Bale took a goal off him against Levante in March.
Being an £86million player in Madrid means you are gauged differently. Whether he likes it or not, Bale will always be measured against Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo, other world-record signings who produced magic just when it was needed.
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