I'm posting this right after Bale scored a penalty against Levante and when Vazquez went to hug him, Bale threw Vazquez's arms off from him and jogged to the half-way line without any hugs from his teammates.

Clearly a sign of discontent from Bale. More concerning is that although Bale enters the starting lineup for brief spells, for the past 3 seasons our best lineup has never included Bale in it. Zidane instead preferred to have Benzema and Ronaldo as forwards and Isco as the connecting man, or do a Ronaldo-Benzema-Asensio trio.

Even this season, our best lineup is clearly Vinicius-Benzema-Vazquez. It's the lineup that's winning us games and the lineup that's scoring us goals. Bale has been benched for several seasons now, and now Ancelotti's comments hint at a possible rift between Carlito and Perez originating from Bale complaining to the President about his playing time.

MOREOVER, there's Courtois' comments that Bale doesn't socialize with his teammates. Marcelo as well joked that himself and Bale only communicate with sign language.

Here below is basically Ancelotti's gentlemanly way of saying Gareth was too selfish.

Napoli manager Ancelotti said in an interview with Il Napolista (h/t The Independent's Sam Lovett) that he can't stand egotism in a player, suggesting Bale was at times prone to selfish actions:

"Altruism in a squad is important, because if there's something that drives me mad, it's people who are egotistic in a match situation. Those moments when a player really should pass the ball and he doesn't. I paid for this in my own career.

"The reason the row with Florentino Perez exploded in Madrid was my substitution of Bale against Valencia. Bale should've passed it to Karim Benzema, who would've scored in front of an open goal, but instead he took the shot.

"I hauled Bale off and the chaos erupted. Perhaps excessive altruism is also a limitation in a striker, as he needs a bit of egotism, but not if it's over the top."

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2822063-carlo-ancelotti-talks-chaos-with-florentino-perez-over-gareth-bale-before-exit

Hmmm. Interesting article and words from Ancelotti. I was always unde the impression that Bale fitted in well to the team as he took the time to learn Spanish (him and his wife) which not many English speaking players take the time to do, either in Spain 🇪🇸 or Italy 🇮🇹.

Also Madrid is a club which works in two ways:

1) Trophies.
2) Players marketability. (Bale is young and can still move a lot of shirts 👔)

Bale is finished. I’ve watched many games of Real Madrid under Lopetegui and he was one of the better players I thought. If anything, I never understood why he was getting subbed off so much.

Now though, the guy is shit. I remember he missed an open goal against Barcelona when he chose to cut in on his weaker foot. As you say, he has always been inconsistent and injury prone.

Vinicius and Vazquez may not be excellent finishers, but they will do a lot of hard work. Prime example is the Madrid derby. I know Vinicius fucked up for a goal and Bale scored, but Vinicius bought so much, Bale just stood goal hanging and took his chance. He is not a ST though, which is why I also don’t rate him as much anymore.

Tbh though, in a big game, I can see him starting ahead of Vazquez.

One question I have though, do Varane, Kroos and Vinicius speak spanish?

Bale is made for high intensity games that leaves many spaces and low marking... I still don’t know what he is still doing at Madrid. If I was him I would have returned to PL long time ago.
Vasquez is more adapted to the style of play, it’s not a secret.
Yeah bale didn’t want to celebrate for X reason, btw how Levante lost that game is beyond me. Hit the post twice and got denied to clear PK and VAR gave two soft PKs to Madrid.

Im not shocked by the gesture of Bale, but if I was Vasquez I wouldn’t be happy of it. It’s not like he did a solo run, his teammates gave him a pk to shoot.

@Amir

Varane: Speaks Spanish almost like a native.

Kroos: from what I have seen of his interviews, he understands and speaks Spanish just fine, but just prefers to speak in English because he's more comfortable in the language. But I haven't heard anything about him having difficulty communicating, so I assume he speaks well enough to converse with his teammates

Vini: doesn't speak much Spanish yet, apparently. It's understandable because he's only been in Spain for less than a year. He should learn quickly though since he's a native Portuguese speaker. If you follow his Instragram page (assuming he runs it himself), all his posts about the team are in Spanish.

Funny fact: Since Vinicius isn't eligible for a driver's license in Spain (probably not old enough yet), he has to get driven to practice by Benzema and Modric lol.

@Tiki

Okay, but if Malcom did that to Roberto after scoring a penalty, your entire fanbase would be pretty upset too.

Thanks mate, to be fair to Vinicius he’s just arrived, whereas Bale has been around for a long time.

Lol, all that pain of looking after Vinicius. But I’ve seen him play against Barcelona Atletico and Sevilla and he played pretty good in all. All that pain is gonna be worth it. I’ve also heard about Rodrygo going to Real Madrid really soon. From what I’m hearing, he’s one of the best players in his league. Future looks bright for Real Madrid, especially considering the Eriksen rumours.

@Amir

This is his 6th year in Spain... I think it's embarrassing to have lived in a country for six years and to not even be comfortable enough to have a short conversation in the language. Like Courtois said: When you live in Madrid, you adopt the Madrid lifestyle. Only Gareth and Toni haven't adopted the Madrid lifestyle, and Gareth is the only one who doesn't have a relationship with his teammates or come to team social events at all.

Seriously, Sergio Ramos recently held a dinner at a restaurant where he invited the team to speak about our struggles this season. All the players showed up except for Navas (had made plans earlier, apparently), and Toni and Gareth (who prefer to sleep early).

I'm not entirely pleased with Toni not showing up, but I'll at least give him a pass based on the fact that he's always been extremely consistent in his performances, and he's never put in a bad performance in a big game. Never, not once. But Gareth not showing up is inexcusable since his form is part of the problem. I'm glad Isco, Luka, and Marcelo showed up, though. Those three (+ Gareth) looked like they really needed a talking-to from Ramos to get their sh*t together.

I would love Eriksen at the club, but I'm more keen on us signing a forward. I've been wanting Icardi or Kane for a while, but seeing Icardi's personal affairs recently has made me glad he's not on Madrid.

We've signed some excellent youth recently, but this will only pay dividends in 5-6 years. I guess we'll see how well Perez's policy works out. For now, I think we just need to let the old guard give it a couple more tries and see if we can win the UCL or La Liga. If not, then it would be time to release the older generation (Marcelo, Kroos, Modric, Benzema) to whatever club they want to go to, and to let the young'uns enter the starting XI.

I think Marcelo is done at Madrid. I don’t think he is that consistent anymore, and defensively he’s weak. Modric to me still has it, same with Kroos. My thoughts on Benzema is very mixed, he brings a lot but he doesn’t really score, so I see why you would want a ST more than a midfielder.

Bale has flopped in Real Madrid imo. Ronaldo broke records, made the difference in big occasions and was a leader. This was Baie’s chance to become even a bit of that, and he hasn’t taken it. If a bid of 60 mil+ comes I would really take it because clearly he isn’t happy and neither are most the Madrid fans and maybe some players.

I say you take Eden and give us Bale. Eden wants to go anyway and Bale wants to leave. They are about same age, but most certainly we will need more cash on top because Hazard is a better player and not morally abused like Bale.

Maybe Bale was unhappy because he saw how VAR is helping them to win it and realized that Casemiro epically dived? I for once wouldn't be happy with such a win and getting a penalty as "cheer up" gift. #Bring#Bale#back#to#EPL!

@dynastian

Do you also have dinners at 9:30? Then drink coffee until 1:00 am then wake up 11 AM?

Toni and Modric weren't there either. Oh yea, they perform better so they are excused. If Ramos really wants to improve something or to sort it out out, he will make sure everyone attends. I always thought Ramos is a crappy captain. That is why he was never given captaincy in Spain until he was given by seniority.

@Marcus

Actually I do eat dinner at 9:30. :D

Different cultures do different things.

Toni and Modric weren't there either. Oh yea, they perform better so they are excused

From what I've seen on several sources, Luka WAS present. And Luka was playing terrible for the first half of the season, so you're wrong on that account too. Ramos supposedly made the point that Luka needs to play better, because the whole team plays better when Luka plays well.

I always thought Ramos is a crappy captain. That is why he was never given captaincy in Spain until he was given by seniority.

Captaincy in Spain is always given by seniority for every team. You're very misinformed about Madrid lol.

I think Bale would do much better in the EPL with the spacing there is among defenses. He would probably go back to tearing sh*t up. And I wanted Hazard until Vinicius exploded on the scene. Now I'm not so sure how we're going to accommodate Vinicius if Hazard comes because Hazard is going to immediately be given the left wing.

At this rate, Dynastian is well on course for writing articles in goal.com.. Or, The Sun..

these are speculations based on random, vague incidents.. Nevermind, I enjoyed your fictious writing.

Ramos doesn't strike me as clever man, ( Oh yeah he is amazing fighter on the pitch which probably the reason why it motivates others by his example), that is my point about his captaincy, so i doubt he mitigates conflicts well ( his red card records) and balance dynamics of the dressing room moral well. I think he should have found a different approach to a player who is already isolated and feels isolated.

Ofcourse, we don't know all the details of the story but eating dinner at 9:30 and drink coffee at 1 when probably knowing that Bale goes to lullaby at 10:30 ? That is when Ramos should show his intelligence and maturity understanding the situation of a player who also comes from different culture, and perhaps schedule it between hours of 6-7 like normal people do around the world then skip the damn coffee because who the hell drinks coffee before going to sleep? :D Lol these spaniards, no wonder their economy is crap. shows the attitude of the people towards work.

Bale will do good in EPL, also because he will feel home and welcomed. He will feel happy. I think that plays a significant role on his performance. He used to play in Madrid with his idol Ronaldo, but now he is completely alone.

Eden Hazard is in his prime years, and this guy will bring trophies. I rather see guy happy, then rotting in Chelsea right now, because we have let him down.

@srk_rox

Lol, I've linked the article to Ancelotti and you can google the Courtois & Marcelo comments, as well as the Madrid dinner that happened recently.

Or you can be an idiot, whichever pleases you. It's clear you don't watch any RM football.

@Marcus

What is up with your dislike for Spaniards? Damn. Seems like you really have something against their culture lmao. I feel like people like me and you, who don't live in Spain, can't comment on how the Spaniards should live their life. It's hard for us to say that Ramos should accomodate for Bale when 90% of the squad seems to be fine with the Madrid culture. Seems like an issue on Kroos and Bale more than anything, but whatever. Not the point I was trying to argue.

I agree with you that Bale's happiness seems to be important for his form. I also think that La Liga's intricate style and tight spaces don't do him any service. Bale likes to dribble Maradona-esque where he pushes the ball several feet in front of him. That's really only suited to counter attacks in Spain, which are rare. Leagues like England and Germany would suit Bale far more than slower, tighter leagues like Spain and Italy.

Northerners. I have German friends, they don't differ too much from British when it comes to discipline.

Real Madrid has set some of the biggest records of La liga due to their fast paced counter attacking football. You won several CL's again because following managers after Mourinho continued with counter attacking tactics ( modified to their philosophy). Shouldn't Real Madrid cater to a player like Bale because he is considered attacking spear of the team?

Bale likes to dribble Maradona-esque where he pushes the ball several feet in front of him.

Are you sure? I see him quite technical. He relies on his speed a lot which is smart, wouldn't you rely on your strongest ability? Messi relies on his low center of gravity and agility, and Ronaldo used to rely on his speed too. I don't know about tight spaces in the league but Ronaldo did just fine in those spaces. Problem is else where not individually.

Bale has gotten more technical since joining Real because he had to. La Liga is a technical league and a player worth anything will adapt at least a little in that area.

He is still an out and out counterattacking player though. He does need that space to really push his speed and Real have that in their pocket as a strategy.

I would love to see Bale move back to EPL though. You are all right in that he needs to be happy, comfortable, and relaxed to enjoy his football. That will bring out his best again. We are all like that in a manner of speaking, so it is understandable.

I am hoping Hazard does not move to Real though. Sure it is great for his career and will be a nice new challenge, his technical ability wont stand out AS MUCH as it does in the EPL. Will he do better than Bale in La Liga, yes, I do believe so, but he will take some ego hits when he sees he is not the more technically gifted on the team anymore.

The Bale/Vazquez thing was absolutely nothing.