Real Madrid: It’s time to start thinking about what’s next for Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale is on fire. The Real Madrid loanee is turning back the clock with his performances for Spurs, finding the level both Tottenham and Madrid were hoping for when both parties agreed to a loan deal this summer.

After a slow start to the season in which Bale did not feature much in meaningful contests, the Wales international is looking like a world-class forward again. Bale has now scored four goals with two assists in his last four Premier League matches. After a brace and an assist against Burnley a couple of weeks ago, Bale bagged another brace in a 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.

And with his form continuing, it’s time for Madridistas to start thinking about the 31-year-old’s future and what lies ahead for the club legend.

In this current form, Bale would be Real’s best wide forward. Rodrygo Goes has impressed when healthy this season and Vinicius Junior is currently hitting a good patch of form, but the same praise cannot be delivered to Marco Asensio. And Eden Hazard has become an even bigger injury risk than Bale. Despite the praise for the youngsters, the reality is that none of these guys have been anywhere near as productive as Bale this season, especially not as of late.

Gareth Bale has more goals for Tottenham than any Real Madrid player not named Karim Benzema

Bale has 14 goal contributions this season in all competitions, including 10 goals. Real Madrid, meanwhile, have nobody besides Karim Benzema with more than six goals and nobody besides Benzema with more than eight total goal contributions. Casemiro, a defensive midfielder, is the man in second in both categories.

So if we assume that Bale would play this well at Real Madrid, then he would be a massive upgrade for Los Blancos and exactly the kind of player the club needed.

But can we really assume that? If Bale wasn’t happy in Madrid and had issues with the fanbase and the manager, then it wouldn’t make sense for Real to expect the same sort of production from him in a setting that he does not fit anymore. Bale has been amazing in Madrid before, but that doesn’t mean he can replicate that success after returning from Tottenham. It may just be that the environment, the players around him, and the coaching situation at Spur suit the player better.

If that’s the case, Bale would probably want to push to stay with Tottenham permanently. It won’t be an easy deal for Spurs to pull off, because Bale’s wages are high. But as long as Real don’t ask for much in return and accept that the eased wage burden is return enough, then the deal should have a good chance of happening, provided Bale continues to play well. He doesn’t have to score a brace every other game, but his recent patch of form can’t be a fluke. The 14 goal contributions in total are nothing to sneeze at.

Bale does indeed appear to be back. And he may be better off without Real Madrid, as much as he would seemingly help the Royal White club in 2021-2022 as a right winger. Now, the conversation should move forward to how serious Spurs are about keeping him and what a transfer between these two sides would entail. For Madrid, seeing Bale succeed in a place he’s happy and sparing their wage budget for a forward-of-the-future type who wants a move would be more than fine. There should be no feelings of “missing out”, because Madridistas should have already mulled over those feelings in the past.