El Clasico 2013: Neymar Proves He Was Better Signing Than Gareth Bale

Real Madrid is justifiably a little miffed at two missed penalty calls in a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in Saturday's El Clasico, but Los Blancos have 85.3 million reasons to be concerned far beyond the result of one match against Barcelona—mainly, the career projections of the clubs' two recently added stars.  

Barcelona won the battle at Camp Nou to push its point total to 28. This gives it a four-point lead over Atletico Madrid and a six-point lead over Los Blancos. However, for a glimpse of Real Madrid's inner thoughts on the legitimacy of this win, we simply need to visit the club's official website. 

The website's report for the game features the title "harsh result" in all capitals. That is followed by this caption introducing the story: "Madrid deserved more in El Clasico, but, 1-0 down, the referee failed to award two clear penalties: one for a handball by Adriano and another for a foul on Ronaldo by Mascherano."

While Madrid has a legitimate beef with these calls, there was an even harsher result for the club emanating from this contest. Gareth Bale is, and will continue to prove to be, an inferior signing to Neymar. This puts Real Madrid in an unenviable position against its rivals for the foreseeable future. 

Neymar—who arrived on a £48.6 million transfer fee—helped out Barcelona's cause by scoring the match's first goal and assisting on the second. Meanwhile, Bale did little of anything. 

This was the first El Clasico for both of the high-profile recent arrivals. Neymar, playing in his ninth La Liga match, rose to the challenge of the contest by picking up his third goal and sixth assist of this La Liga campaign. Meanwhile, Bale—who signed for a record transfer fee of £85.3 million this past transfer window—remains stuck at one goal and no assists in La Liga play. 

This tweet offers up a look at more of their stats for the match:

To be fair to Bale, the former Tottenham forward has played in just four games and this was just his second start, as he recovered from a thigh strain. While his lack of playing time helps ease the concern for his unproductive start, this is not just any player we are talking about. Bale is the world's most expensive soccer star, and whether he is adjusting to a new team or not, his talent is not expected to be stifled with such ease.

Of course, there is also the concern that Bale had the nagging injury in the first place. This is not something Los Blancos can afford to turn into a trend.

Meanwhile, Barcelona does not have the same reason to fear health issues derailing Neymar's tenure, and it is losing concern that the young Brazilian will struggle to fit in.

Neymar's talent is unquestioned. However, there was concern that the 21-year-old would struggle with the increased physicality of his new league. While he's had to adjust to that style of play, it isn't keeping him from producing. Also, at just 21, he should only get stronger and add some bulk as he ages, which will better prepare him for the rigors of his league.

At 24, while not old by any stretch of the imagination, Bale should have arrived as a much more complete package. He also is almost certainly closer, and perhaps there already, to his athletic prime than Neymar.

While basking in the glow of its El Clasico triumph, Barcelona is free to dream of a future featuring a player in Neymar who should only improve in the next few seasons.

Meanwhile, while bemoaning the injustices of its El Clasico, Real Madrid is simply hoping that Bale can reclaim some of the form that made him such a huge transfer target in the first place.