Gareth Bale: It's time for Real Madrid to sell the Welshman
After four years, the time has come for Real Madrid to sell Gareth Bale.
The Wales international's fee has been repaid in the form of two Champions League titles (a goal in one final, a converted penalty in the other) and that Copa del Rey final gallop against Barcelona.
But he has far from shone in his all-round play and has failed to establish himself as an indisputably central figure in Real's team.
Bale: physically he's a beast, but Real play better without him
When fitness has allowed Bale to pull the white shirt on regularly, what we've seen is a footballer who is a monster in physical terms. With green grass ahead of him to stride into, his power and pace make him unstoppable.
However, the ex-Tottenham Hotspur man has major problems when it comes to linking up with his team-mates and is found wanting when asked to deal with the ball in tight spaces.
When Bale has been out and Real have favoured a 4-4-2, they've been better. The last two months have offered up irrefutable evidence. Without him, the side have shown greater balance, control on the ball and domination of the play.
If Bale stays, he'll once again be a problem for Isco - and an obstacle towards Marco Asensio's development.
Time to cash in on Bale and switch off the BBC
On a strategic level, the move would rid us of the stale 'BBC'; financially, meanwhile, it's the right moment to get a good return on a lad who's now nearly 28 and would have no shortage of suitors in the Premier League.