Sorry, Gareth, you don’t decide when you leave Real Madrid — they do
Angel Di Maria. This time last year, what would he have said about his future at real Madrid? His team were on the verge of surrendering the league title but had reached the final of the Champions league with a quite stunning 5-0 aggregate win over Bayern Munich.
He had been one of the outstanding performers of the season and led the la liga table on assists with 17, having been moved to a more central role by coach Carlo ancelotti. at this moment Di Maria would have firmly believed his future was at the Bernabeu.
What would his thoughts have been on the morning of May 25, then? real Madrid had defeated atletico Madrid 4-1 to win their 10th european Cup the night before. in the 110th minute, with the score tied at 1-1, Di Maria had dribbled past three people only to have his shot saved by Thibaut Courtois. gareth Bale scored the decisive goal from the rebound. Di Maria won man of the match and was presented with his award by Sir alex Ferguson.
even if Sir alex had slyly enquired whether he fancied a move to Manchester that summer, what do you think the answer would have been?
Then on to the World Cup in Brazil. Di Maria scored the winning goal for argentina against Switzerland in the first knockout round but had to go off after tearing a thigh muscle against Belgium in the quarter-final.
By that time, however, he had already set up what proved to be the winner for gonzalo Higuain and, although he missed the rest of the tournament, his contribution to argentina’s progress to the final was considered so important he was named in the 10-man shortlist for the golden Ball prize.
There was the usual talk that Madrid would buy big in the summer, and they were believed to be interested in rising Colombia star James rodriguez, but Di Maria had no reason to be worried. arguably he was in the form of his life.
and then, on august 26, having been told he would no longer be making the first team, Di Maria signed for Manchester United.
The point being that at real Madrid it really isn’t your choice whether you stay or go. There is a turnover of players and it doesn’t always happen with rhyme or reason.
anyone with the slightest understanding of how football works knew that defensive midfielder Claude Makelele was an essential component of a team that included the attacking force of Zinedine Zidane, luis Figo, David Beckham, roberto Carlos, guti, Michel Salgado, ronaldo and raul.
Yet out he went in 2003, his qualities dismissed by president Florentino Perez.
‘ask anyone at real Madrid during those years and they will tell you Makelele was the best player,’ wrote Steve McManaman in his autobiography, El Macca. ‘The players all knew he was the most important. The loss of Makelele was the beginning of the end.’
Starting that season as reigning champions, it would be four years before real regained the title.
and these were players who were performing well: Di Maria, Makelele.
So when gareth Bale insists that he will be staying at real Madrid, his defiance should come with a footnote attached. One that points out that it really won’t be his decision.
it won’t be ancelotti’s, either. He was probably rather happy with the way Di Maria had performed last season. no matter. Madrid buy the stars of the World Cup and James and Toni Kroos were most certainly among them. So in they came and out he went. and while there is no World Cup to make the swoon this summer, there are always stars. Paul Pogba, Thomas Muller and David de gea are just three of those who might appease the insatiable need for fresh meat at the Bernabeu.
True, ancelotti has faith in Bale — if not his loose-lipped agent — but the manager may not survive the summer having fallen away in the league again.
His team are unlikely to overcome Barcelona domestically and trail Juventus going into tonight’s Champions league semi-final second leg. Unless Madrid can become the first team to retain the european crown in the competition’s present format, ancelotti may be on his last legs, too.
Where does that leave Bale? ancelotti is his champion, his most vocal supporter. Without him, Bale is among unimpressed fans and teammates who it is claimed won’t give him the ball.
He is struggling with the language, which also counts against him with the locals after close to two years in Spain, and the media are unremittingly negative. Bale’s car was vandalised at the training ground this season and, on occasions, his performances have not been rated worthy of a score by the most influential Spanish newspapers.
The fans think he is a greedy footballer, he thinks he doesn’t see enough of the ball, and Bale is increasingly the scapegoat for Madrid’s shortcomings.
even the support of president Perez may prove hollow in the long run. Ultimately, Perez needs votes to maintain his position. last elected in 2013, unopposed, he is safely mid-term and will not be judged again until 2017.
Yet once those white handkerchiefs start waving, every Madrid president
inwardly shudders. It does not do to be associated with an unpopular player, certainly one that cost £80m.
The axe falls swiftly at Madrid. Ask Mesut Ozil. He also left having topped the table for assists in the Spanish season with 26. Not even the support of Cristiano Ronaldo could save him.
Following his move to Arsenal as the transfer deadline approached in the summer of 2013, Ozil said: ‘At the weekend I was certain I would stay at Real Madrid but I realised I did not have the faith from the coach or the bosses.’
Bale will argue he has the support of Ancelotti — but a new manager? He will have his own thoughts on personnel, just as Perez may see a way of financing a move for Pogba or De Gea. Ozil’s sale helped pay for Bale.
So, what does this mean for clubs in the Premier League? Well, if Manchester United bought Memphis Depay because they thought Bale was out of reach, they may have gone too early.
It could be as late as August before Bale discovers his Real Madrid future — as happened to Di Maria, Ozil and Makelele — and if United do not have room to manoeuvre, either in team numbers or financially, this could prove a tactical error.
EQUALLY, it is hard to see what else they could have done. There is no guarantee Bale is leaving and they could not risk losing Depay to Paris Saint-Germain.
The timing is problematic. If Bale comes on to the market, the only way the Depay move works is if Louis Van Gaal thinks he can play one on either wing — and where does that leave Di Maria, the revitalised Ashley Young or Adnan Januzaj?
Not that the uncertainty is greatly helpful to United’s rivals, either. Chelsea did their business early last summer and, in Financial Fair Play terms, Bale may be beyond them come August. The same with Manchester City.
Arsenal bought Ozil late but one does not see them stumping up for Bale, while Liverpool and former club Tottenham Hotspur do not offer Champions League football.
Jonathan Barnett, Bale’s agent, says that his career is suffering because his team-mates ignore his runs.
Is he paving the way for a dignified exit, one in which Bale departs not as a failure — which he most certainly isn’t — but as a victim of the personality cult around Ronaldo?
If so, he needs to call this sooner, not later. Most of all, he needs to understand the decision will not be made by his client.
A year ago Di Maria was 11 days from capping his finest season with the greatest night of his professional life. It was also his last start for Real Madrid. There really is no other club like it.