He is already the most expensive player in the world and now if rumours are to believed he is set to rival a certain Barcelona player called Lionel Messi for the status of the best-paid player in the world.
According to the Telegraph, Gareth Bale’s meteoric rise to become Madrid’s most important player in the last few crunch games has put himself in pole position to challenge Lionel Messi.
The Welshman, heading into the season-defining games, has come out all guns blazing, with four goals in his last four games, including the deflected shot off Fernando that gave Los Blancos the only goal of the tie against Manchester City and sealed their place in the Champions League final.
Of course, it is easier said than done, as Messi already earns in excess of £336,000-a-week and is in line to obtain a pay rise of his own this summer. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is held as one of the two greatest players of his generation and perhaps of all time, Bale’s teammate Cristiano Ronaldo being the other.
Also read: Gareth Bale could extend stay at Real Madrid with new contract
But since Ronaldo and Benzema, the other two of the famed ‘BBC’ trident have been injured for the last few games, Bale has assumed utmost importance and is leading the way for the Bernabeu club in their absence.
Even though the 26-year-old has missed more than half of the games through injury, he is recording his best single-season career statistics.
He has overtaken Gary Lineker as the highest ever scoring British footballer in La Liga and is just two goals short of his career high figure of 21 goals which he achieved while at White Hart Lane, having played fewer games.
Also read: Cristiano Ronaldo wants Zinedine Zidane to stay on as Real Madrid coach
Indeed, when asked how he felt watching a fully fit Bale ‘bail’ his side out of trouble again in the last league game against Sociedad, Zidane replied, “When you see him playing well, playing the full 90 minutes, and also when he is scoring goals, you are happy for him.”
“At the end of the season he is very important for us, scoring goals in such important games like today.”
Bale himself admitted he feels much more comfortable in the Madrid capital. He said, "I feel like I am maturing,"
“My Spanish is getting better and I am integrating more with the team. I feel like I have turned a corner in that sense and I'm enjoying my football here.”
He gets paid around £300,000-a-week at present and with Madrid looking to extend his current deal which runs till 2019 for another two years, he could remain with Los Blancos for the next five years.
This could see him eclipse Ronaldo and Messi as the world’s best-paid player. Right now though, the two superstars are still way ahead of the rest.
