Come home Gareth, you cannot win this battle
GARETH BALE would be immortal if he played anywhere else in the world. For his first season alone, he should be mentioned in the same breath as other Real Madrid legends.
He has found in the last 12 months, however, that life at the Bernabeu is not 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. Watching 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 s ome 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? 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 (above) — 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 he will never be anything other than Real’s main man.
You only need to see how he reacts when not receiving a pass or how he sulked when Bale nipped in to score a goal ahead of him against Levante in March to get a true idea of his feelings.
Does Bale have to put up with that? The more Ronaldo sulks when Bale does something he doesn’t like, the more the Bernabeu crowd will react with fury. That was evident when he missed a glorious headed chance against Juve with the score at 1-1.
Being an £80million 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 have produced magic just when it is needed.
These past two years will have been a culture shock for Bale. Life at Tottenham could not have prepared him for Madrid, where the expectancy i s to win the Champions League or La Liga — or both — every year.
Had he moved from, say, Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea, it would still have been a massive step but on Wednesday I saw how it has had an impact.
The Bale I played against demanded the ball and made things happen with his pace, strength and aggression. He had football arrogance but not once did I see him demanding his team-mates give him the ball. Perhaps life is just too different for him. He understands Spanish but has not yet given an i nterview to the Spanish press in their language and, given he has spent t wo s easons t here already, you would have to wonder whether that would change next year.
It would be good to see him come home for a number of reasons. Firstly, English football has lost too many top players to La Liga in recent years and getting Bale would reclaim some balance. He would immediately become the Barclays Premier League’s No 1 performer again.
Secondly, he would automatically improve whichever team he went to. If Chelsea decided to show interest and he went to Stamford Bridge, nobody would catch them in the race f or the title next season. Equally, if the Manchester clubs signed him, they would be right back in the hunt.
Should he get the chance to come back, he must grab it with both hands.
His achievements with Real are there for all to see. Now it would be good to see him playing with happiness again.