Bale’s bail out bugs Real Madrid supporters
GARETH Bale has enraged Real Madrid fans yet again by pretending to nod off during Real’s clash with Alaves, taunting his detractors.
The Welshman was left on the bench for the fourth game in a row as Los Blancos recorded another important win in the Laliga title race, beating the visitors 2-0.
Bale, who has started just 12 games this season and hasn’t featured in any of Real’s last four matches, began laughing sarcastically when Madrid brought on their fifth and final substitute on Friday night.
With his hopes of getting into the action over, the winger reclined in his seat, propped his feet up and covered his eyes with a face mask at the fan-free Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
Spanish newspaper Marca labelled the Welshman “shameful” before publishing the headline: “Bale’s image ‘a la Faubert’: His worst photo as a Real Madrid player?”
The reference calls back to former West Ham winger Julian Faubert’s bizarre yet underwhelming Madrid loan, when the Frenchman appeared to doze off on the Bernabeu bench in 2009 during a 3-2 win over Villarreal.
Unlike Faubert, Bale has enjoyed incredible success at Madrid, scoring three Champions League final goals and lifting the trophy four times featuring in 251 appearances for the club since joining from Spurs in 2013.
However, the speedster’s past success has long been forgotten in Madrid, with fans furious at his latest wind-up.
“Very disrespectful from Gareth Bale. It is clear he doesn’t want to be a part of the club anymore. His performances have been terrible of late (when he has played), don’t blame Zidane for not playing him,” a Madrid fan account wrote.
Marca’s Ruben Jimenez added: “Does Bale intend to laugh in the stands until 2022? Doesn’t he have desire for football or revenge?”
The 30-year-old last hit back before at his Spanish critics by posing with a banner reading “Wales, golf, Madrid, in that order” while on international duty, after Real fans had accused him of putting more effort into his swing than his football career.
Zidane’s side sit four points above Barcelona with three matches remaining, having restarted the season behind Lionel Messi and Co.