From hero to villain: Charting Gareth Bale's chequered career at the Bernabeu

Gareth Bale's career at Real Madrid is drawing to a close, with the latest speculations suggesting the club will let go of his services for free in the summer to stop paying his whopping wages.

Heavily linked with a switch away from the Spanish capital over the past year and a half, the Wales international has found himself on the fringes of Zinedine Zidane's squad, clocking up just 18 appearances in all competitions this season.

After falling out with his manager and the fans, Bale is almost certain to leave the 13-time European champions in the summer, but there are very few clubs that can afford his salary. Indeed, one of the highest-paid players on the planet, the 30-year-old's weekly wages are well in the range of £650,000, which has been the main stumbling block in Real's efforts to offload him in the summer of 2019.

Even though the Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning was on the verge of wrapping up a deal for the former Tottenham Hotspur man, the negotiations collapsed at the eleventh hour, throwing Bale one last lifeline at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, a series of injuries and continuous struggle to perform at the highest level have seen the Welshman endure another underwhelming season, which may as well be his last in the white shirt.

Bale Deserves more credit

Brought in from Tottenham for a then world-record fee €100.8 million in 2013, Bale enjoyed a stellar breakthrough season at the Bernabeu, racking up 22 goals and 19 assists in all competitions under Carlo Ancelotti. The Welshman made an instant impact, helping Real Madrid conquer the UEFA Champions League for the first since 2001/02 and then moved on to win three consecutive titles in Europe's elite club competition, scoring in two finals.

For instance, Cristiano Ronaldo managed 33 goals and 12 assists in his maiden La Liga season but had only lifted one Copa del Rey with Los Blancos before Bale's arrival. There's no doubt that Bale's signing empowered Real Madrid and made a decisive impact on their rise to prominence in the following years. In fact, the ex-Southampton youth academy product has achieved 14 major trophies with Los Merengues to date.

Let's not forget that the Spanish powerhouse splashed out €100million to snap up Eden Hazard from Chelsea last summer. Unfortunately, the Belgian superstar has so far done nothing to repay that money and Florentino Perez's trust, scoring just once in La Liga this campaign.

Let's compare that return with their fiercest rivals - Barcelona forked out over €250 million on the signings of Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho. The duo has scored 40 goals and 28 assists together during their time at the Camp Nou, clearly failing to live up to their exorbitant transfer fees. Additionally, the Catalans triggered Antoine Griezmann's €120 million release clause to take him away from Atletico Madrid last summer, with the Frenchman contributing 14 goals and four assists in his first season in the Barca shirt so far, which again is nowhere near Bale's numbers.

Moreover, Bale (14) has won more titles at Real Madrid than Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane combined (13) and has scored just two goals less (105) than the famous duo altogether (107).

How did it all go wrong for Bale?

So, how did Bale go from being the X-Factor to becoming the Ex-ray factor?

Although Bale undoubtedly boasts of intimidating numbers, as witnessed in the above section, he has never managed to win over the fans like his former partner-in-crime, Cristiano Ronaldo, did. The Portugal captain had been an ever-present figure at the club ever since the moment he graced the Bernabeu up until his departure for Juventus in 2018.

The level of consistency that Ronaldo was providing during his time at Real Madrid is incomparable to Bale's, which apart from the numbers, represents the main difference between these two. It was hard for the Welshman to live in Cristiano's shadow, but surprisingly, his level of performance has dropped significantly after the Portuguese left the club.

Bale was expected to shoulder the goal-scoring burden and step up in the post-Ronaldo era, but he has miserably failed in that regard. A dismal record of 17 goals and nine assists in almost two full seasons in Cristiano Ronaldo's absence has left the Real fans fuming at Bale.

Often sidelined by injury setbacks and in constant conflict with Zinedine Zidane, the left-footed forward has registered just three goals across all competitions this term - Sergio Ramos has managed seven as a defender! Bale has contributed to only 8% of Real's total league goals scored this term, becoming a highly unpopular figure in Madrid.

During Cristiano's last season at Real, even though he was often troubled by injuries then, Bale picked up 21 goals and seven assists in all competitions, which betters his record in the entire post-Ronaldo era.

It's an undeniable fact that Bale was a more constant performer during Ronaldo's time at the club than he has been left on his own. It is also a fact that his career has been in steady decline from the moment his partnership with Cristiano ended.

What now?

Bale has always been a polarizing figure, seen by some as an unfulfilled talent and by an overrated British project, and by others as a man who played a part in changing Real's modern history. His accomplishments with Los Blancos speak for themselves and contrast the negative opinion, but in the eyes of the critic, his recent years at the club cancelled off all of his previous good deeds.

A genuine lack of leadership skills and now quite questionable work-ethic have seen Bale become something of a scapegoat at the Bernabeu, and his future seemingly lies overseas, probably in the Premier League.

A return to Tottenham seems to be a plausible solution, even though Jose Mourinho's side may end up failing to secure Champions League football. The Spurs bigwig, Daniel Levy, is on the lookout for a household name to bolster the club's image, particularly in light of Harry Kane's uncertain future in north London. Linking up with his former employees could be a win-win solution, as Bale would see his wage demands satisfied, while Tottenham would have another important figure to represent them.

The Premier League reunion for Bale is an even more realistic prospect after the coronavirus outbreak that puts the Far East off limits in the near future. Given that apart from the Chinese clubs, there are very few teams in Europe that can afford Bale's salary, the Tottenham fans can soon see the prodigal son's return.