HAS Real Madrid’s patience with Gareth Bale finally run out?
The Welshman has never really won over the club’s fans since arriving from Tottenham for a world record transfer fee of £78million in 2013 and he is frequently made the scapegoat when things go pear-shaped at the Spanish giants.
It doesn’t help matters that the 26-year-old seems to spend as much time on the treatment table as he does on the pitch, with the Madrid hierarchy now feeling his brittle body is seeing him turn into the new Arjen Robben – the Dutchman whose time at the Bernabeu was so blighted by injury.
Spanish website AS revealed some interesting statistics regarding Bale’s productivity and they don’t make great reading for the forward.
“Since his arrival at Los Blancos in 2013, the 26-year-old has broken down 11 times and featured in only 8,620 minutes of a total of 13,590: just 63 per cent of Madrid’s first team action.
“And the percentage is even lower if the focus is narrowed to the current season, during which Bale has only been involved in 44 per cent (1,265 of 2,880 minutes).
“His least injury-hit campaign came last term, when the former Tottenham man appeared in 76 per cent of the minutes played by Real (4,036 of 5,310), while in his maiden year at the Bernabeu he managed just 61 per cent (3,319 of 5,400).
“Taking into account the 100.7million euro fee of his transfer fee from Spurs, plus his 18-million-euro gross salary, he is costing the club 750,000 euros per game.”
The news that Madrid may consider selling Bale will alert Manchester United who have been linked with the Wales star for the past few transfer windows.
Bale has consistently said he wants to see out his time in the Spanish capital and prove himself in La Liga but, unless he can maintain his fitness and make a significant impact in the remainder of the season, the decision may not be his to make.
He would certainly offer plenty to a United team that is currently lacking badly in creativity and flair if he were to return to the Premier League but you’ve got to wonder how his body would stand up to the rigours of the English top flight given the problems he’s had since moving to the less intense, less physical Spanish competition.
United fans, would you like to see Bale lighting up Old Trafford or does his injury record put you off?
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Football Advisor – bet with confidence.
paul35mm
Mar 20, 2016 at 11:59 pm
Why would Bale leave unless Man U match his salary? They would be stupid to do so, as Bale has no where else to go. The only way United to should go in for Bale is for a minimal fee, say £20 million, and wages in the £150,000 per week range.