As you’ll likely be aware by now, Gareth Bale is not held in high esteem in Spain these days, and thus his imminent return to Tottenham has produced an expected slew of salty commentary.
The Spanish press never miss the opportunity to insult someone if they can, and when it comes to Bale, it’s an open goal they can’t resist.
Marca take up the mantle today, with journalist Juan Ignacio Gallardo presenting it all as a significant success story for Real Madrid (obviously).
‘I don’t know if Gareth Bale was a catastrophic failure to adapt or a major lack of commitment’ he writes, explaining that the Welshman seemed to indicate ‘laziness, slackness, indolence even boredom’ during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
That led to him look far out of place in Spain ‘like a panther in Granada or a crocodile in Valladolid’ which means the handicap he was afforded because of his skill – and the ‘decisive goals’ he scored – could not save him.
Instead, Madrid have ended up shipping him out the door and even paying some of his wages to ensure a move to Tottenham happens.
The deal, Gallardo argues, is further proof that Madrid have played their cards ‘very well’ in what he describes as a ‘troubled football market’.
That’s because they’ve managed to get rid of a player who was charging a ‘golden price for every minute played’ and thus brought a ‘significant relief’ to the club’s finances.
All in all, it’s a chance for the Marca journalist to stick the knife in, presenting Bale as a ‘foreign element’ who never fit in Spain and was ‘detached from everything’. Thus, sending him to Tottenham is a major success story all round.
Of course, Bale is unlikely to care much. He’s got the move he wanted, finally, rid himself of Zinedine Zidane and managed to keep his wages as well.
As far as he’s concerned, that’s probably a major success and enough to shield him from any barbs they send his way from Spain.
