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Gareth Bale’s Real Madrid adventure looks set to end in flames, literally.
The Welshman has been a big part of the Los Blancos’ squad ever since he arrived at the club from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, almost six full years ago. And since then, it’s safe to say that it has been quite a mixed ride.
Sure, there were highs, like the four Champions League crowns the 30-year-old forward helped put into Real’s cabinet – how could anyone forget his double to sink Liverpool in the final last year, including that wonderful scissor-kick that leftLoris Karius, and the world, stunned.
Or going a bit further back, to 2014 when Real Madrid beat none other than Barcelona in the final of Copa del Rey and Bale was the one blazing through the flank to score the match-winner. So yes, there are some extremely fond memories that both the player and the club will undoubtedly cherish. And precisely because of that it really is a surprise to see Bale essentially forced out of the club with such cruelty and disrespect, after all those years of service. Or is it really?
Well, no – it is not. Not when we know that Bale is not the first one to get that kind of treatment. Not when he is not the only Real Madrid icon turned into an outcast, and not when even the trophies, all the goals, the years of service, blood, sweat and tears are not enough to satisfy the giant of the footballing world that is the club from the Spanish capital.
And how do we know it’s not enough? All we have to do is look a bit into the past to find another case that is fairly similar to this one and involves a player with a much bigger pedigree than Bale. His name? Iker Casillas.
And that name certainly means a thing or two to the average football fan, let alone to the Madridistas. Casillas spent the big majority of his professional career guarding the net of Real Madrid. He was a player brought up by their academy and one that burned through the ranks in a blaze of glory until he reached the senior team in 1999, just at the turn of the century.
And what a turn it was – Casillas went on to spend the next 16 years as their man between the sticks, winning three Champions League titles and being crowned Spain’s best five times in the process, among other triumphs. Surely such a player would be held in high regard long after he’s gone from the club and would surely never leave their memories regardless of how much time passes along the way. But that is exactly what happened.
Casillas’ last days at the Santiago Bernabeu were spent in agony and when the time finally arrived in 2015 for him to leave, there was no one to shake his hand – no highlights of his career, no pictures being taken with the president, no teammates to clap as he exits the pitch for the final time. Just a conference room with some journalists and a legend covering his face to stop the tears that went streaming down it.
He too was turned into an outcast, Sid Lowe declaring that he was shown the exit door with ever-decreasing subtlety before being granted the most unceremonious of exits. Once he became dispensable and he no longer played a major role in the club, Real Madrid were ready to bin him, quite literally, and never to speak about him again. And sure, just like Bale and his ever-returning injuries and his unwillingness or inability to learn the language, he too had his faults. But who doesn’t?
Naturally, as he grew older his skill deteriorated accordingly and granted, maybe it was time to say goodbye anyway. But even if that were true, legends and faithful servants of the club deserve more than an empty conference room when they finally call it a day.
And this is why Bale’s case is no surprise and also no mere coincidence at all. No, Bale’s case could very well just be a sign that there are problems running far deeper at Real Madrid than the naked eye can see. Whether their core values are wrong or these heroes of their teams did something terrible we’re all not aware of, these sentences seem rather harsh and odd, to say the least.
Check out an epic rant about Real Madrid fans that we can all relate to below…
Casillas ended up being shipped to Porto and Bale’s future is yet to be fully decided. But one thing is clear – Zinedine Zidane doesn’t want him there and so he’ll leave. And at the end of the day, as this relationship finally comes to its conclusion, it looks like it’s probably for the best. Bale should definitely leave a club that is showing him no respect, a club which he gave six years of his career, prime years at that, too.
His biggest statement, his biggest retaliation would be exactly that – leave, and succeed somewhere else. Show Real Madrid that they were wrong to treat him like that, show them that that is certainly not the way to handle your players. Especially the ones that scored 102 goals and assisted further 65 in 231 games. Especially not the ones that bagged three goals in two finals of the Champions League. And especially not the ones that helped you win countless silverware.
It still remains to be seen how Bale’s time at Real Madrid will be remembered but one thing seems pretty clear now – these scenarios are not isolated cases at Real Madrid and while we can’t say for sure they represent a bigger problem at the club, the signs are pretty worrying.
Will this change in the future? Only time will tell and we can only hope so.
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