Outstaying their Real Madrid welcomes: Gareth Bale and James Rodríguez

Neither Gareth Bale nor James Rodríguez seem to be a part of Zinedine Zidane’s plans moving forward. Offloading these players seems the best option for Real Madrid.

Asking your manager not to include you for any matchday squad is the lowest point the player-manager relationship can hit. First, James Rodríguez requested Zidane not to include him in the final few matchday squads in La Liga because of not getting any opportunities.

Then, it was Gareth Bale who asked Zidane not to name him for the second leg of the round of 16 against Manchester City.

After sitting on the bench and displaying his antics by making binoculars out of cups and dozing off in the stands, Bale has reached a point of no return.

I will be focusing on their situations in detail in this column, breaking down where these players have gone wrong, what they could have done differently, why Zidane doesn’t have room for them in his plans, and what should be done to resolve their seemingly unsolvable situations.

Gareth Bale: The greatest what-if?

When Gareth Bale signed for Real Madrid in 2013 for a then world record fee, everyone thought he was going to be the king to rule the Bernabéu once Cristiano Ronaldo’s time with the club was up.

Although Cristiano left, Bale has not transformed into the sort of leader everyone envisioned him becoming. After an exemplary debut season where he netted 22 goals – plus one in both the Champions League final and the Copa del Rey final – Bale was already considered to be on par with his fellow Portuguese teammate.

The 2014 Copa del Rey final saw Cristiano miss out, but Bale didn’t let Cristiano’s absence impact the talented team. He went on a marauding run that saw him out-muscle and outpace Barcelona’s Marc Bartra to make it 2-1 to Real Madrid.

That goal is still fresh in the minds of every Madridista – an extraordinary and vital goal, considering the premise and the context (El Clasico), that is engraved on our hearts forever.

President Florentino Pérez did say that Gareth Bale’s signing was a stimulus to missing out on Neymar, who signed for Barcelona the same summer. However, Bale has become a legend for Real Madrid, scoring 105 goals in just 251 appearances, turning out to be a better player than he was expected to be for Los Blancos.

He is a legend of Real Madrid, for sure.

But he has undoubtedly tarnished his reputation after a highly problematic 2019-20 season. Bale’s problems go beyond this season, however. While one cannot blame Gareth for getting injured continuously (he is probably one of the most unfortunate Real Madrid players ever when it comes to dealing with injuries) he has done little to convince Zidane that he can be the go-to-man in attack.

Bale’s injury problems in the 2016-17 season meant that Zidane had to look for alternatives within the squad, and the prominence of Isco in the diamond formation plus Marco Asensio’s rise meant that Zidane had discovered a new formation and the coveted ‘BBC’ was no more. Just to put things into perspective, Bale scored a hat-trick in Zidane’s managerial debut against Deportivo La Coruna.

Watching Gareth play is like watching a silent and emotionless movie. There’s just no purpose. He was given a lot of opportunities at the start of the season, but it is pretty evident that he has lost the motivation, which in turn has seen him become a pale shadow of his former ‘Alpha Bale’ self.

On the other hand, you have players like Mariano Díaz who leave every ounce of their body on the field to impress the coach and have an impact on the game. The best example is his appearance off the bench in the March Clasico.

Coming on in the stoppage time, he was bursting with energy and scored a goal to pile further misery on the Catalans. You will barely see Bale bustling with such ambition. But, I am not criticizing him. I love him, and I am hurt a lot to see his reputation nosedive the way it has. His time with Real Madrid is coming to an indefinite end.

It hasn’t been all that bad either. He won the Mahou Player of the Month in August 2018 under new manager Julen Lopetegui. Cristiano’s departure was finally unleashing the leader that many had expected the Welshman to become. Unfortunately, his tryst with injuries meant that any hopes of Bale becoming the offensive maverick were brushed aside.

“We hope he leaves soon, it would be best for everyone. We are working on his transfer to a new team.”, were the words of Zidane during the 2019-20 pre-season after reporters asked why Gareth Bale was dropped from the squad.

Real Madrid blocked Bale’s transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning in a deal that would make the winger world’s highest-paid footballer. Reports have suggested that the Chinese club were unwilling to pay a transfer fee.

There’s much more to the entire Zidane and Bale saga, which should be left for another day. As things stand, Gareth Bale seems to be content at staying in Madrid for the remainder of his contract (which expires in 2022). He doesn’t want to leave the club but will also not bat an eye if Zidane decides to axe him from the squad. In my opinion, it would be best for both Real Madrid and Gareth Bale if they can find him new suitors. At 31, he still has a lot to offer.