Why Real Madrid will not sell Gareth Bale this winter

Since the whole press conference from Carlo Ancelotti about sticking to the 4-3-3 and using the crop of players that he trusts, we have usually seen 10 names in every lineup, except for when the coach goes for rotations. Real Madrid have 10 great players for those positions, but that one spot is always left undecided. It’s the right-wing spot, and I have absolutely no idea who is preferred the most by Ancelotti.

First you have Eden Hazard, who is not really a right-winger but has been playing there for the past two games amidst the whole COVID outbreak within the squad. I won’t lie, he wasn’t great, even though Ancelotti said “He’s back” for some reason. Marco Asensio has started a bunch of games on the right, and he has sometimes looked good, sometimes almost non-existent. Rodrygo has had a few very good games there but the offensive output isn’t as much as it is when he plays on the left, even though that doesn’t happen too often.

Then you have one more player (Well, you have two, but I don’t think Lucas Vazquez would ever be considered as a contender for the starting spot because of his importance as Dani Carvajal’s backup), which is Gareth Bale. Bale started the season with a couple of goals, and was a mainstay in the attacking trio before he started getting injured, and hasn’t really played since because of said injuries. He’s in the final year of his huge contract, so we know for sure that he will be gone in the summer.

The thing is, there are reports from MARCA that talk about Real Madrid wanting to sell Bale in the winter if an offer arrives. But like, why? Or, how?

Real Madrid will not sell Gareth Bale simply because they won’t be able to

We’ve known this for a while now that Real Madrid would love to get Gareth Bale’s hefty salary off their ledger as soon as possible, but there are many reasons why that won’t happen till June.

First of all, while Gareth Bale is still productive and good enough to have a starting spot in a different, slightly worse team, he’s not the player you build your team around anymore. No one’s going to take him on for that salary.

Even if there is a team that is interested in his services, they can simply wait till June to get him for free. Now, this is a similar situation to Isco’s, but the difference is that teams might actually be willing to sign Bale.

Secondly, why would you even sell him now? I don’t think there is a team that would buy Bale in January, but Real Madrid might as well use the extra help on the right-wing spot. We still don’t know who the preferred option is for Ancelotti, but judging by the way Ancelotti wanted Bale to succeed at that spot at the start of the season, it wouldn’t hurt to try him there for a few games, would it?

Who knows, maybe his experience and talent gets Real a few goals from that flank as well. It depends on Ancelotti, but if you have Gareth Bale, Rodrygo and Marco Asensio fighting for the same spot, it gives you options. It makes you think which player is better suited to play against which team.

Like I said, Real Madrid are already paying the salary, they might as well get something out of it. Besides, Bale himself would like to end his stint at Real Madrid on a good note if he wants teams to look at him as an option next summer.

We know how inconsistent Asensio can be, or the lack of output that Rodrygo can sometimes provide in the offense. If nothing else works, Ancelotti can just put him in and see what happens, because, well, why not?