BALE IS A BRIT SPECIAL

THE history books will judge this Real Madrid team differently.

They will also remember Gareth Bale in a different light to the one in which he is often portrayed.

This, after all, is a player who has won FOUR Champions League titles in five years and will go down as one of Britain’s most successful exports of all time.

It is an incredible achievement, highlighted by Bale’s 64th-minute wonder goal just three minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Bale hung in the air, then unleashed a stunning overhead kick which will go down as one of the best goals in Champions League history – if not the best.

The Welshman deserves more respect and credit for what he has achieved in the goldfish bowl of the Spanish capital.

Signed as Cristiano Ronaldo’s long-term replacement, yet too often left to suffer in his shadow.

Greatness

Ronaldo refuses to go quietly, driven on by his quest for even more greatness because this team have an incredible winning habit in the Champions League.

Every time Real are written off – and that happens quite a lot – they reply with another trophy.

Three in a row now marks them down as the club’s most successful team since the late 1950s.

However, it is always about fine margins because defeat could have spelt the end of an era for this Zinedine Zidane outfit – and now victory marks them down for greatness.

That is why we struggle to appreciate them because, for all their failings in Spain’s domestic competitions, they sweep all before them in the Champions League – and that is all that matters to them.

They simply know how to get the job done, even down to a Sergio Ramos challenge on Mo Salah that demolished Liverpool’s star player.

Ultimately, Real Madrid had too much experience, too much know-how, too much class.