What does the future hold for Gareth Bale as a Real Madrid player?

As Real Madrid have sprinted towards the Spanish title, Gareth Bale’s antics as a substitute in the stands have become something of a sideshow. During the win over Alaves, the Welsh winger was pictured pretending to sleep with his legs up on the feet in front of him and his face mask over his eyes. The hijinks didn’t stop there, with Bale fashioning a paper cup into a pair of binoculars as his teammates claimed a 2-1 win over Granada on Monday.

Of course, this certainly isn’t the first time the 30-year-old has played the clown whilst at Real Madrid. In fact, it’s a role Bale has taken to over the last year or so. Take the infamous ‘Wales, golf, Madrid’ flag and the countless pictures of him practising his golf swing or putting during training. Bale relishes a spot of trolling, that much has been proven

But what does the future hold for the Welshman in the Spanish capital? Of course, Bale came desperately close to leaving Real Madrid for the Chinese Super League last year only for the plug to be pulled on the deal at the very last moment. Now, he has been ostracised from the first team at the Santiago Bernabeu, with the relationship between Bale and Zinedine Zidane seemingly beyond saving.

Zidane has never been a big fan of Bale’s. The story goes that the Frenchman wanted him out of the club at the end of the 2017/18 season, with Real Madrid’s failure to comply with that wish one of the reasons Zidane felt it necessary to resign as head coach. When Zidane was lured back to the club less than a year later, he was promised that he would have the freedom to shape his team as he saw fit. There is no place for Bale in that team then and there still isn’t now.

Bale, however, has a contract that runs until the summer of 2022 and it appears he has every intention of earning every penny he is owed from it. The Welshman feels mistreated by Real Madrid and sees this as his way of taking revenge. It will, however, see Bale waste his peak years as a professional. By 2022, he will be 32 and into the twilight of his career. Is that a price worth paying for revenge?

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