It has been almost four years since Gareth Bale completed his world record transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013. Expectations were high from the Welsh wizard as he was expected to push Real Madrid towards La Decima. But while Bale has won titles at Madrid, he is yet to win over the Real Madrid fans. But Why does Bale not get the love that Beckham used to get from the Madridistas?
David Beckham was a Galactico signing who was supposed to win the Champions Legaue with Madrid. Unfortunately for Madrid, things did not pan out that way as the Galactico project took a turn for the worse. While Florentino Perez will never admit it, the sale of Makelele was the biggest mistake of that tenure. The Madrid team no longer functioned as a unit anymore and failed to win any trophies for a few years.
While many people were blamed for it, Beckham was not one of them. Beckham’s performances were never questioned while humility and endeavor was greatly appreciated by the Madridistas. He did finally win a title in his last season, in which he played a crucial part in Real’s unexpected title triumph.
It was an emotional moment for Beckham as the image of him walking around the Bernabeu with his family while taking in the applause from the Madrid faithful will last long in everyone’s memory. Till today people talk fondly about David Beckham’s time as a Real Madrid player.
Bale’s time at Madrid has been different. He arrived as the world’s most expensive player and played a crucial role in Real’s success that year. He scored a memorable goal in the Cup final while it was his header in extra time which gave Real the lead in the Champions League final.
His second season was an underwhelming one as the Madrid fans turned on him for not producing enough big moments. But his performances improved next season as his influence in the team started to grow. He single handedly lead Real in the title race and was critical in their Champions League success.
So Bale has won more titles and has had far more of an influence than Beckham did in his time. So why is there no love for the Welshman ?
The problem with Bale is that he was supposed to aide and then one day replace Ronaldo at Real. But Ronaldo is a freak. His superhuman goal scoring prowess does not seem to wane at all and his influence is still felt all around the great club.
Bale cannot score those many goals when Ronaldo expects him to first and foremost be a provider to him. Bale just needs to look at Neymar’s situation at Barcelona. The Brazilian is also playing second fiddle to Messi but he does not want to continue doing that for much more.
Also, Bale seems to have a fragile body which racks up far more injuries that it should. There are rumors that the Real Madrid hierarchy are losing their patience with Bale’s fitness issues. Bale has missed a majority of this season with Real and his latest injury rules him out of both legs of the Champions League semi final.
Ronaldo can be counted on to play in almost every match for the club while Bale’s fitness is a major hurdle. When Bale got injured in the Classico on Sunday, you would be hard pressed to find any Madridista who wiped a tear.
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Many fans believe that Bale’s presence hinders the team. The much acclaimed BBC cannot play together anymore. Only two can at a time. Ronaldo is untouchable.
So in a straight swap between Benzema and Bale the Madridistas would prefer Benzema not because Bale is a lesser player but because you have replacements for Bale in Isco, Rodriguez and Asensio.
It is not fair for Gareth Bale. Overall he has been great for Madrid and if they do win the league this year, then Madrid might actually consider selling him. Bale’s market value is still extremely high with the likes of Man Utd being extremely interested in his services.
Bale has already won the Spanish Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and two Champions Leagues. With the possibility of a La Liga title and another Champions League this summer will not be a bad time for him to leave. He would leave as one of the most successful players to have donned the famous all white.
It may be a good deal for Real as well. In Asensio they have a ready made replacement for Bale. They will be able to re coup a significant chunk of the world record transfer fee that they paid for him. All to be honest, he has won played a big part in all their title triumphs as well.
So maybe the time is right. But things can change between now and the summer transfer window.
