Gareth Bale Widely Slammed by Spanish Media over Real Madrid Injury Setback

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is no stranger to criticism from the Spanish press, and the Welsh international has received another dose of condemnation via some outlets after suffering a recurrence of a recent injury problem.

Bale looks set to miss the upcoming clash with Paris Saint-Germain with the same calf issue that kept him out earlier in the season, per the club’s official website. But sympathy has been scarce for the former Tottenham Hotspur man after he featured twice for Wales during the international break, including a dead rubber clash against minnows Andorra.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press/Associated Press

As reported by Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror, the backlash from the Spanish press has been pretty scathing. According to Malyon, AS columnist Manu Sainz accused Bale of a “lack of respect” to Los Blancos, while El Chiringuito’s Roberto Morales said the Welshman had indulged in “an act of total irresponsibility.”

The harshest criticism came from AS’ Real Madrid editor Tomas Roncero, though, who has previously accused Bale of having an “infantile jealously” towards team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo, per Malyon. He addressed the forward directly in his column, per Malyon:

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Where it’s bad luck we’ll always support a player so that they recover as quickly as possible. But you have mocked Real Madrid because you have prioritised your national team over the club that pays you.

Be patriotic, love your country, but if you are already qualified you don’t need to go to the party against Andorra, and play 90 minutes on top of that. It’s inadmissible for a Real Madrid player. …

You cost €100million buddy, now you’re not going to be there against PSG and that’s where you’ll be missed. You were bought to make the difference against PSG, against Bayern, against the big clubs. But you’re not going to be there, because you played against Andorra.

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Malyon noted comparisons have been made between how Bale and Ronaldo handled themselves during the international hiatus. The Portuguese came back from the international setup once his team had qualified, putting the Welshman’s decision to stay with his nation in similar circumstances into sharper focus.

As we can see here courtesy of OptaJoe, Bale was absolutely essential to his team qualifying for their first major tournament since 1958:

Ronaldo scored in a 3-0 win for Real Madrid over Levante at the weekend as La Liga resumed, while Bale turned in a muted performance and was withdrawn at half-time.

Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press

Naturally, the contrasting displays by the pair did little to endear the Welshman to the Madridistas, who remain divided on Bale’s worth to the team. “That is why Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the history of Real Madrid apart from Di Stefano, and you will only ever be the most expensive,” snapped Roncero. “Nothing more.”

Lucas Navarette of SB Nation is another seemingly unhappy with the player’s recent decision-making:

Still, it’s worth remembering Bale featured in games for Real Madrid immediately before and after the international break. If there were major concerns about his fitness and a potential relapse, then surely it would have been irresponsible of the club to have started him against Levante. Safe to say, this problem looks to have been an unforeseen one on the part of Wales and Real.

Anyway, given how historic a moment the Andorra game was for Bale and Wales, it’s totally understandable he wanted to be involved. While it doesn’t take much for the forward to be castigated by the Madrid press, these latest complaints in the direction of the former Spurs man seem especially misguided.