The Bernabéu is on Bale's back again...

The Bernabéu is on Gareth Bale’s back again. Very recently, Florentino Pérez said, or had it said in his name, that those who were against Bale were effectively against him. Now he is not saying that as much. Those that are against Bale at the moment are so numerous that it is no longer convenient for Pérez to make that claim. Those that are against Bale are in that frame of mind due to his poor performance levels, and the impression that he is not overly enthusiastic about rediscovering his form and earning his place in Madrid’s front line. Bale tends to act as though his place is a right, an inheritance. He rarely seems to consider the fact that every time he starts Lucas Vázquez or Marco Asensio are on the bench.

Bale arrived at Real Madrid as a result of Florentino Pérez’s eye for marketing, the Real president convinced that he would be the next Ballon d’Or when Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi started to decline. It was a signing that did not improve the team and required opening up a place in the side with a hammer, and that is still the case. Bale is a fantastic player with the attributes of a decathlete, a powerful left foot and an impeccable heading ability. But he lacks a little to be an indispensable forward on a stage trod by players of superior quality like Real Madrid. He can be that player for Wales, but not in Madrid. At Real Madrid he remains a peripheral element, who doesn’t link up enough with his colleagues, takes a few shots and has scant regard for anything going on behind him.

Because of his price, out of curiosity and because of the equine power he displayed until a succession of calf problems pegged him back, Bale was accepted with a sense of hope. The club’s faith in his qualities led to the departure of Ángel di María and later that of Carlo Ancelotti. But now, when the question is whether Bale or Asensio should be in the starting 11 and day by day it is becoming evident that he is blessed with privileges that he is not justifying on the pitch, the Bernabéu has turned against him. Like Karim Benzema, he has the image of a favoured son and that is working against him. Benzema, at least, has a subtlety between the lines that covers him when Ronaldo is in the team and scoring the goals. But Bale…