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Real Madrid have turned from European superpowers to a team struggling team after Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus last summer. Los Blancos, who are 13 points behind leaders Barcelona in La Liga table, have been dumped out of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
The Santiago Bernabeu now have barely 50,000 attendees compared to 70,000 people who used flock to the stadium when Ronaldo was playing. This data means that Real Madrid have significantly less income compared to previous seasons and getting knocked out of cup competitions have not helped their cause either.
However, they have to pay an eye-watering amount of weekly wage to several of their underperformers. Here we will take a look at 3 high-paid Real Madrid players who do not deserve to stay at the club beyond this season.
Marcelo
The Brazilian has arguably been on his worst spell at Real Madrid this season. He is undoubtedly one of Real's highest earners at £200,000-a-week but he has cost his club a lot this time, both in terms of money and points. His form has drastically plummeted and he even became a scapegoat for the club's faithful on several occasions.
He has been one to blame for Los Blancos' poor defensive form as the Spanish outfit have now conceded 37 goals in the league this season. Real Madrid's defensive record is worse than La Liga mid-table teams such as Leganes and Athletic Bilbao. Marcelo had seen some resurgence under Zinedine Zidane but his form has rapidly sunk again.
Zidane decided to bench him again for Sergio Reguilon in Madrid's latest game after an embarrassing defeat against Valencia. The summer transfer window would be the right time for the club to part ways with their long-serving defender as Zidane already has Reguilon, who is ready to step up as a replacement.
Toni Kroos
It is no secret that Toni Kroos has lacked consistency this season. The German maestro has been heavily slammed to a point that even a former Real Madrid youth coach also criticized him. He is now no longer indispensable at the club as he has often been subbed early recently.
Zidane even benched and played him for just 13 minutes in the club's latest match against Eibar. Interestingly, the former Bayern Munich star is earning more than his Ballon d'Or winning team-mate Luka Modric. Kroos' wage is currently on par with Real Madrid's long-serving veterans such as Sergio Ramos and Marcelo at £200,000-a-week.
It would be best for Real Madrid to cash in on the midfielder at the next window as the German could still be sold for a considerable amount.
Gareth Bale
The Welshman should have been the one to have benefitted the most from Ronaldo's departure but he has been no more than a massive liability for the club.
It is no secret that Bale is currently Real Madrid's top-paid player, owing to his ridiculous £350,000-a-week wage. He has added more misery to his club with his woeful injury records as he has missed tons of matches for Real Madrid.
He has scored just 8 league goals this season and Real Madrid would not have any choice other than selling the Welshman if they manage to snatch Eden Hazard from Chelsea next summer.
