'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Gareth Bale has just about survived Real Madrid's 'Comunicado Oficial' treatment after what has been a strange series of events that have unfolded over the years. The Welshman's time in Spain has been marked by strange stories about refusals to learn Spanish, reported clashes to be the alpha on the pitch, injury problems, preferences of positions, and perhaps the most strangely, an affinity to golf. Golf, Gareth?
It begs the question really, can someone who has won 14 trophies, played 231 games, scored 102 goals, provided 65 assists, and propagated the man-bun for a single club considered a liability? Maybe Real can't take the bun anymore.
Now, in a bleak pre-season for Real Madrid, Bale has shown that he can still contribute in front of goal, he's looked like getting along with Eden Hazard in training as well, which could bode well for Zidane's team on the pitch.
The illustrious time that Jonathan Barnett's crown jewel spent in Florentino Perez's backyard did produce some absolutely jaw-dropping moments in the six seasons he spent there.
Maybe we need to refresh our memories to see exactly what Bale brings to this Real Madrid side. Grab your tissues and let's take a road down Bale's Real Madrid nostalgia alley.
First game, first goal
It must be a big deal to become the most expensive footballer in the world. Besides the whole footballing aspect, and if you put aside every penny of the £85.3 million, it was a huge cultural shift for Bale.
He moved to a different country and now had to perform or be swallowed whole by the demanding Real Madrid faithful. Amid rumors that Cristiano Ronaldo would still demand to be the alpha in the dressing room and on the pitch, Real's new record signing took to the pitch in his first game wearing the iconic white strip.
It took him 35 whole minutes to score his first goal. The game would eventually end in a 2-2 draw, but for Bale personally, it would've been a weight off his chest to get the first hurdle quickly out of the way to pave the way for bigger stages and more important goals. Hey, at least he got an embrace from the alpha.
Bale's perfect hattrick
Not much of a story here, except the phenomenal first season Real's new signing was having in Spain. Bale was imperious in his showing against Real Valladolid, who were on the wrong end of a 4-0 thumping by a Real Madrid side propelled by their new import.
Most attackers can't wait to get their first goal out of the way at their new clubs, but getting hat-tricks at Real Madrid for a top-class attacker is as much a right of passage as first goals are elsewhere.
What makes it better was that it was not just Bale's first hattrick for Real, it was also a perfect hattrick. Not something he'd put in his resume, but it's still a feather in his cap. The Welsh icon was turning it up at the Bernabeu in a big way while the world was watching.
100th Goal for Real Madrid
Bale hit the century mark for Real Madrid earlier this year in pretty non-dramatic fashion, but in an important game. He sealed a 3-1 win in the Madrid derby to give Real something to cheer about in a pretty bleak season.
In a pretty straightforward move, Bale moved into space on the left-hand side and controlled the pass before arrowing it past the keeper and put some daylight between them and Atletico Madrid.
Bale's current tally is 102 goals in the white shirt of Real Madrid, which puts him in 14th place on the list of their all-time leading goalscorers. For all the scorn directed towards him, that's just a couple behind the Ronaldo Nazario, who scored 104 for Real.
Club captain Sergio Ramos marked the occasion later on with a commemorative shirt that I'm sure hangs prestigiously at Bale's home now.
Bale hat-trick in Zidane's first game as manager
Sure, they wouldn't go on to have the most fulfilling relationship, but the way Bale kicked it off couldn't have been better. Bale scored two headers on the day, but the most sublime of the three was his second goal on the night.
Bale made a late run into the box and Carvajal played in a low cross to find him. The way he twists mid-run to open up his body and guide the ball home with his left foot, caressing the ball into the near post is a thing of beauty.
This should ideally have been a great start to a great relationship, but somewhere along the way things got fractured between player and manager. Now, perhaps with Ronaldo at Juventus, Bale can start to shine under Zidane.
Immaculate volley against Dortmund
When you think of left-footed volleys... you probably think Zidane, or maybe Van Persie, Bale had one of his own.
The 2017/18 Champions League campaign saw Real Madrid draw Borussia Dortmund in their group. Everyone expected two cracking games (they got them). In the first of the two is where our sublime volley transpired.
Carvajal spotted Bale's run from deep and floated in a delicious ball towards the forward who drifted into space as he so often does. Everyone except Bale was preparing for him to take it down and let rip, but the Welshman struck the ball first time with his thunderous left foot and the ball nestled in the far corner of the goal.
It opened the scoring for Real, who would go on to win the tie 3-1. Of the many goals that Bale scored for Real, this one is often forgotten, but its a thing of beauty, nonetheless.
Champions League winner against Atletico Madrid
The year that Gareth Bale joined the Spanish giants, Real Madrid were led by Carlo Ancelotti and as usual, expectations were high. As the club progressed through the season, Ronaldo was going about business as usual (he would finish the season with 51 goals and 17 assists), and Benzema along with Bale were also in stupendous form, especially in the Champions League.
This imperious attack spawned talk of winning 'La Decima' among the Real Madrid faithful, who had waited since they last won in 2002 for a chance to be Europe's most elite competitors with their 10th European trophy. As fate would have it, the opponents they would face in the final were familiar foes.
Things went awry early for Real Madrid as the talismanic defender Diego Godin put the visitors ahead in the 36th minute. A return was possible, but difficult against such an organized and compact Atletico team.
It was Sergio Ramos who rose to the occasion in the third minute of stoppage time after the 90 minutes who breathed life into Real Madrid with an equalizer to take the tie into extra time.
Gareth Bale scored 22 goals for Real Madrid that season, but none perhaps more important than the 110th-minute header to put his side ahead in the Champions League final. Marcelo and Ronaldo would score in the second half of extra time to seal the tie and Bale would become a first-time Champions League with his new team.
Champions League stunner against Liverpool
Have you seen the most beautiful goal of a Champions League final? Not many could score it on a training pitch, but to do it on the biggest stage in club football... Craque!
Anyone who watched the 2018 Champions League final would tell you that there were many talking points after the game, but if there was a moment tattooed in everyone's memory, simply for its audacity and breathtaking athleticism, it was Bale's bicycle kick.
While Bale's other goal on the night was something Karius should've stopped, there are some goals you don't stop, this was one of them. A moment of brilliance as a Welshman seemed to hang upside down, eyes focused, left foot extended and the contact. Another moment and the ball smashes into the net, a third and its ecstasy for Bale, jubilation for Real Madrid.
Bale's most iconic moment in a Real Madrid shirt
If you were to ask people what do you remember most about Bale at Tottenham, you'd likely hear about his single-handed demolition of Inter Milan (and Maicon). Ask the same question about his time at Real Madrid, and the answer could be few of the other moments mentioned in this list, but as an individual contribution and lasting memory, nothing beats Bale's winner in the 2014 Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona.
With Cristiano Ronaldo sidelined due to injury, Real Madrid went into the tie seemingly already at a disadvantage. The game began well enough for them with Di Maria giving them an early lead. Barcelona's young centre-back Marc Bartra would claw back a goal in the second half to put his side back level.
In the 85th minute, with most players running on reserves, Bale picked up the ball near the halfway line, close to the left touchline and charged forward. Bartra being the last man to beat he knocks the ball past him and sprints full throttle, at one point going off the pitch and then back on it to reach the ball ahead of the defender, take it infield and slot it past the keeper to complete the move and seal his name in Real Madrid history.
Some say Marc Bartra is still running.
