Gareth Bale | Golfer, ex-Footballer, Elbower of racists, ***********, Golf Ambassador, Bar Owner, Real Legend, Defibrillator

It’s a weird one because he was the most expensive player in the world at one point and obviously a superstar at Tottenham, but didn’t really live up to it in Spain, although still did some amazing things.

When you compare him to the players mentioned and consistency involved it all but evens itself out.
 
So many. Scholes. Rooney. Ferdinand. Come to mind immediately.

I mean Rio was among the best 2-3 CBs of his generation. Big moments here and there but Bale was never in that bracket.

He's also spent the last 3-4 performing about as well as Martial or Rashford at club level.
So basically names that have already been mentioned in this thread already then.

Left field picks TBH was expecting different names to be posted.

People in this thread forget how much of a monster he was between 2010 and 2013.

Even that one season at Tottenham back on loan he was better then RASHFORD and Martial combined half fit!
 
It’s a weird one because he was the most expensive player in the world at one point and obviously a superstar at Tottenham, but didn’t really live up to it in Spain, although still did some amazing things.

When you compare him to the players mentioned and consistency involved it all but evens itself out.
Yeah compared to the likes of Hazard, Dembele and Isco to name a couple he has been a right failure hasn’t he in Spain?
 
So basically names that have already been mentioned in this thread already then.

Left field picks TBH was expecting different names to be posted.

People in this thread forget how much of a monster he was between 2010 and 2013.

Even that one season at Tottenham back on loan he was better then RASHFORD and Martial combined half fit!
I mean I literally gave the names right on the tip of my tongue. I'm sure there are others if I think about (already coming to mind)

I don't think people have forgotten how good he was. Was an excellent player. But he's also one of those headline players whose general performances are lesser than the hype (which comes with all goal scorers/end product players). Even at Madrid before the beef, while he got goals his all round play usually stuck at being below par. Which doesn't make it surprising that people rate footballers who over 90 minutes week in week performed to a higher standard.

Rashford and Martial got some 23 goals each a few seasons ago. Anyway half fit or not that's his level for about 3-4 years now. Whether he was unfit or disinterested him being rubbish/ mediocre during this phase of his career is a huge blot.
 
Compared to likes of Ronaldo, Benzema, Griezmann, yeah he has been.
Considering he is British and British players are well known not to fair well in foreign leagues he has more then succeeded expectations MASSIVELY.

How can you expect there to be so many top dog players in one functioning team? Of course he is going to shadow Benzema and Ronaldo!

Does not make him any less or more then world class!
 
Considering he is British and British players are well known not to fair well in foreign leagues he has more then succeeded expectations MASSIVELY.

How can you expect there to be so many top dog players in one functioning team? Of course he is going to shadow Benzema and Ronaldo!

Does not make him any less or more then world class!
I watched Madrid fairly often when Bale was at his best there and his all round play wasn’t something you’d call world class, he did play well sometimes and hardly a terrible player overall but nothing close to his Tottenham form.
 
Or Scholes. Or Ferdinand. Or Giggs or Beckham (even though you could argue the latter two really had their best seasons pre 2000s). I know football has changed but the only reason I could see that people would say Bale is better than Giggs (stylistically I suppose they were the most similar players) is either they weren't watching football in the 90s and early 2000s or time has dulled their memories of just how good Giggs was.
Um, no. I can assure you I was watching a lot of football in the 90s and am fully aware of how good Giggs was. Bale, on his day, simply had more to his game. Better long passer, better finisher, better set piece delivery, quicker and more athletic. Giggs had close control over him and was a better (though given bale's pace i would argue no more effective) dribbler but Bale was more decisive in key moments.
 
I watched Madrid fairly often when Bale was at his best there and his all round play wasn’t something you’d call world class, he did play well sometimes and hardly a terrible player overall but nothing close to his Tottenham form.
The thing is he wasn’t the main man at Madrid like he was at Tottenham so he was never going to be in the spotlight as much

I will repeat for the way he plays which is more suited to the premier league/German league he has been a success in a league where people had doubts about his technical ability and passing.
 
So much unfair criticism on this forum towards Gareth. Don’t forget under the 4-3-3 originally under Ancelotti Gareth would be the one to drop in a defending position in a 4 man midfield whilist Benzema and Ronaldo stayed up top and didn’t defend.

I could harp on all day if I need to.
 
The thing is he wasn’t the main man at Madrid like he was at Tottenham so he was never going to be in the spotlight as much

I will repeat for the way he plays which is more suited to the premier league/German league he has been a success in a league where people had doubts about his technical ability and passing.
Funny this whole thread is basically alive because the Madrid fans and media don’t think he’s been a success.
 
Considering he is British and British players are well known not to fair well in foreign leagues he has more then succeeded expectations MASSIVELY.

How can you expect there to be so many top dog players in one functioning team? Of course he is going to shadow Benzema and Ronaldo!

Does not make him any less or more then world class!
You need to put things into perspective
Bale has been at Real Madrid for 9 seasons now
Out of these 9 seasons you have 5 of them that range from poor to (16/17, 18/19) to basically getting next to no playing (19/20,21/22) or being loaned (20/21)

I would seriously question if Bale should even rank above Harry Kane as a purely individual player purely due to the massive massive gap in term of consistency (obviously Bale is still much greater overall due to his career achievements)
 
Funny this whole thread is basically alive because the Madrid fans and media don’t think he’s been a success.
You really think Madrid fans and the media hold any credibility?

Madrid fans who boo all there players and don’t get my started on the media.

Yeah if I want to find out if a player has been a success in Madrid a certainly wouldn’t ask a Madrid fan or Madrid fan based journalist.
 
So many. Scholes. Rooney. Ferdinand. Come to mind immediately.

I mean Rio was among the best 2-3 CBs of his generation. Big moments here and there but Bale was never in that bracket.

He's also spent the last 3-4 performing about as well as Martial or Rashford at club level.
Apples and oranges, to be honest. Also, there's a reason that attacking players of bale's calibre cost more than defensive players of rio's...it's because they're more important, decisive and rarer. That's not to say that Rio was a 'worse' player than bale but just that bale's attributes were rarer and more valuable.
You need to put things into perspective
Bale has been at Real Madrid for 9 seasons now
Out of these 9 seasons you have 5 of them that range from poor to (16/17, 18/19) to basically getting next to no playing (19/20,21/22) or being loaned (20/21)

I would seriously question if Bale should even rank above Harry Kane as a purely individual player purely due to the massive massive gap in term of consistency (obviously Bale is still much greater overall due to his career achievements)
I think the issue of consistency is a fair one to raise (though I'd argue that Bale, more than most, has had seasons and rhythm interrupted by injury) but looking at top level he's been one of the best British players of the last thirty or more years imo.
 
You really think Madrid fans and the media hold any credibility?

Madrid fans who boo all there players and don’t get my started on the media.

Yeah if I want to find out if a player has been a success in Madrid a certainly wouldn’t ask a Madrid fan or Madrid fan based journalist.
That’s just silly now, they’re the Madrid supporters and will have a better opinion than many, it’s like a Barca fan telling us Pogba has been a massive success. Were he’s been decent like Bale, no United fan would say Pogba has been a massive success, well maybe one.
 
You need to put things into perspective
Bale has been at Real Madrid for 9 seasons now
Out of these 9 seasons you have 5 of them that range from poor to (16/17, 18/19) to basically getting next to no playing (19/20,21/22) or being loaned (20/21)

I would seriously question if Bale should even rank above Harry Kane as a purely individual player purely due to the massive massive gap in term of consistency (obviously Bale is still much greater overall due to his career achievements)
Look.

It isn’t Gareth’s fault that he wasn’t played regularly. Zidane had an agenda which was blatantly obvious and too stubborn to make amends and bring him back into the team.

I’m not saying he was Ronaldo levels successful but this forum is making it come across as he was just another ordinary winger like Robben.

Which he Isn’t!
 
Look.

It isn’t Gareth’s fault that he wasn’t played regularly. Zidane had an agenda which was blatantly obvious and too stubborn to make amends and bring him back into the team.

I’m not saying he was Ronaldo levels successful but this forum is making it come across as he was just another ordinary winger like Robben.

Which he Isn’t!
Come on now...
 
Funny this whole thread is basically alive because the Madrid fans and media don’t think he’s been a success.
4 Champions Leagues with 2 decisive goals, in Lisboa and Cardiff + many goals and titles. He has definitely been a success. The problems of the Madrid fans, in my opinion, are based on how badly He did when Cristiano left, being injured one week and perfectly fine the following week with Wales, the laughter on the bench, Barnett's statements attacking to the coach, the Wales.Golf.Madrid flag.

You really think Madrid fans and the media hold any credibility?

Madrid fans who boo all there players and don’t get my started on the media.

Yeah if I want to find out if a player has been a success in Madrid a certainly wouldn’t ask a Madrid fan or Madrid fan based journalist.
Two fantastic coaches, who won everything and who used him in the past, separately decided that he should not play and that his attitude is bad, it was not decided by the fans or the press
 
That’s just silly now, they’re the Madrid supporters and will have a better opinion than many, it’s like a Barca fan telling us Pogba has been a massive success. Were he’s been decent like Bale, no United fan would say Pogba has been a massive success, well maybe one.
Why you bringing Pogba into this?
The fact of the matter is Gareth is a success, not to the heights of Ronaldo and Benzema but not at the low bar set by this forum.
 
Anyway its all subjective and I don’t want to be debating all night.
 
The one big thing that I wonder about Gareth Bale is... what would have happened to Gareth Bale's career if Mino Raiola was his agent??

Mino Raiola is a serial dealer, he gets the deal done and is respected among big clubs and world class football players, he also seems to be the type of agent to want his players to be on the pitch playing football.

Maybe Jonathan Barnett isn't that kind of guy...

Key Points:
Bale apparently didn't seem bothered about learning Spanish - Real Madrid fans would see that as a snub.
Bale was at the golf course when his club said he's injured - Real Madrid fans would not like that.

Would a better agent have advised him differently? I think so

Another agent may have tried as hard as he could to get Bale a transfer out of Real Madrid but a collapsed move to a rich Chinese club was the closest Barnett got for Bale.

Ask yourself this... Bale had world class talent - yet other big clubs seemingly didn't want him... why not? do they know something about his attitude that makes him untouchable?

Or was Gareth Bale's agent financially better off if Gareth carried on collecting Real Madrid's high wages? hence only the rich Chinese club were offering a package that could have financially benefited his agent.

I don't really like Gareth Bale, for me he has a bad attitude, so i'm not sticking up for him, I mean Cristiano Ronaldo would not want to be remembered as a bench warmer because he's an ambitious guy who wants to win.

But I do know that at Tottenham he was a little selfish at times which shows ambition - he still shows that side of him when playing for Wales... so that ambition hasn't just dried up... which is why I firmly believe he is a victim of bad agent management.
 
4 Champions Leagues with 2 decisive goals, in Lisboa and Cardiff + many goals and titles. He has definitely been a success. The problems of the Madrid fans, in my opinion, are based on how badly He did when Cristiano left, being injured one week and perfectly fine the following week with Wales, the laughter on the bench, Barnett's statements attacking to the coach, the Wales.Golf.Madrid flag.


Two fantastic coaches, who won everything and who used him in the past, separately decided that he should not play and that his attitude is bad, it was not decided by the fans or the press
Would you say he was a massive success though, I’d very much doubt it if you’re being honest.
 
Look.

It isn’t Gareth’s fault that he wasn’t played regularly. Zidane had an agenda which was blatantly obvious and too stubborn to make amends and bring him back into the team.

I’m not saying he was Ronaldo levels successful but this forum is making it come across as he was just another ordinary winger like Robben.

Which he Isn’t!
How was Robben an ordinary winger? He was arguably one of the best wingers of his era.
Being compared to Robben isn't an insult I don't know why you would be offended by that.

I'm not gonna get into a debate about whether or not Zidane had an agenda against him but he wasn't exactly popular with Solari and Ancelotti does not seem to have much faith in him either so far

All things considered yes Bale DID succeed in Spain, he's won everything, scored very important goals, there's no denying that
But you can't just ignore that the 2nd half of his 9 years stay there has been shambolics and this will definitely impact the way fans over there remember him.

I think the issue of consistency is a fair one to raise (though I'd argue that Bale, more than most, has had seasons and rhythm interrupted by injury) but looking at top level he's been one of the best British players of the last thirty or more years imo.
At his peak I would definitely agree that he's up there with the very best no question asked.
Greatness is often hard to define though, in the end Bale's career is very remindful of Ronaldinho's
 
How was Robben an ordinary winger? He was arguably one of the best wingers of his era.
Being compared to Robben isn't an insult I don't know why you would be offended by that.

I'm not gonna get into a debate about whether or not Zidane had an agenda against him but he wasn't exactly popular with Solari and Ancelotti does not seem to have much faith in him either so far

All things considered yes Bale DID succeed in Spain, he's won everything, scored very important goals, there's no denying that
But you can't just ignore that the 2nd half of his 9 years stay there has been shambolics and this will definitely impact the way fans over there remember him.


At his peak I would definitely agree that he's up there with the very best no question asked.
Greatness is often hard to define though, in the end Bale's career is very remindful of Ronaldinho's
Yep, agreed entirely.
 
4 Champions Leagues with 2 decisive goals, in Lisboa and Cardiff + many goals and titles. He has definitely been a success. The problems of the Madrid fans, in my opinion, are based on how badly He did when Cristiano left, being injured one week and perfectly fine the following week with Wales, the laughter on the bench, Barnett's statements attacking to the coach, the Wales.Golf.Madrid flag.


Two fantastic coaches, who won everything and who used him in the past, separately decided that he should not play and that his attitude is bad, it was not decided by the fans or the press
That may be true but the fans and press certainly don’t help!
How was Robben an ordinary winger? He was arguably one of the best wingers of his era.
Being compared to Robben isn't an insult I don't know why you would be offended by that.

I'm not gonna get into a debate about whether or not Zidane had an agenda against him but he wasn't exactly popular with Solari and Ancelotti does not seem to have much faith in him either so far

All things considered yes Bale DID succeed in Spain, he's won everything, scored very important goals, there's no denying that
But you can't just ignore that the 2nd half of his 9 years stay there has been shambolics and this will definitely impact the way fans over there remember him.


At his peak I would definitely agree that he's up there with the very best no question asked.
Greatness is often hard to define though, in the end Bale's career is very remindful of Ronaldinho's
I am talking about Robbens spell in Madrid. I do agree as a whole he is certainly in the conversation with Bale as world class wingers overall.
 
Would you say he was a massive success though, I’d very much doubt it if you’re being honest.
what matters are the titles, nothing more. He really justified his signing with the goals in the Champions League finals. Considering his talent, he could have done much more (regardless of his problems with injuries)
 
what matters are the titles, nothing more. He really justified his signing with the goals in the Champions League finals. Considering his talent, he could have done much more (regardless of his problems with injuries)
No argument. His contribution in those CL finals are well documented, but a separation would be better for all parties last summer or even earlier.
 
It’s a weird one because he was the most expensive player in the world at one point and obviously a superstar at Tottenham, but didn’t really live up to it in Spain, although still did some amazing things.

When you compare him to the players mentioned and consistency involved it all but evens itself out.

But he did live up to it in Spain, and then some. The thing is people expect him to put up Ronaldo and Messi numbers, but that's not going to happen. He was treated like sh*t. But when you look at the actual numbers, Gareth Bale was better for Real Madrid than Zidanne was. In fact, he was also better than Figo and Ronaldo (Brazil). This isn't my opinion. This is FACT

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Fantastic player he is/was. However, he stopped caring about the club that pays his wages about 4 years ago.
 
But he did live up to it in Spain, and then some. The thing is people expect him to put up Ronaldo and Messi numbers, but that's not going to happen. He was treated like sh*t. But when you look at the actual numbers, Gareth Bale was better for Real Madrid than Zidanne was. In fact, he was also better than Figo and Ronaldo (Brazil). This isn't my opinion. This is FACT

DzDOmw9WwAAlDBq
You’re comparing two totally different generations though, not exactly a reasonable comparison.

He cost 5 million more than Ronaldo and came with a big expectation, so not unreasonable to want him to do big numbers.
 
But he did live up to it in Spain, and then some. The thing is people expect him to put up Ronaldo and Messi numbers, but that's not going to happen. He was treated like sh*t. But when you look at the actual numbers, Gareth Bale was better for Real Madrid than Zidanne was. In fact, he was also better than Figo and Ronaldo (Brazil). This isn't my opinion. This is FACT

DzDOmw9WwAAlDBq
Just shows that stats are bollocks cos he is not anywhere near R9, Figo and Zidane in my opinion.
 
For reference that quote came from the Spanish media, a fan stuck it on a flag as a wind up and he got pictured celebrating behind it after a Wales game but he didn't see what was written on it until after the picture was taken. It is actually a perfect example of how the media likes to create a narrative. It was their own words and yet they now run with the story as though he coined the phrase and had the flag made up himself to insult the club, it is pathetic.

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gareth-bale-reveals-story-behind-18189050

"I'd seen the banner a few weeks before," Bale told The Hat-Trick Podcast. "The boys had shown me and they said 'if we do qualify, let's try and find it and bring it out.' I was like 'do what you want but I won't be going over to get it.'

"They brought it down, we were all celebrating as a team and I'm not going to not jump around with my teammates. It was a bit of banter. A bit of fun. People can see it how they like."

Let's be honest, he knew about the flag and the message on it, he did not care about it when he was dancing with his team mates and he did not bother giving an explanation or apologize after the incident.

I am against the media as much as the next guy when they start an agenda against players, but Bale was not contributing to stop the fire in this case precisely. All the contrary in fact.
 
Um, no. I can assure you I was watching a lot of football in the 90s and am fully aware of how good Giggs was. Bale, on his day, simply had more to his game. Better long passer, better finisher, better set piece delivery, quicker and more athletic. Giggs had close control over him and was a better (though given bale's pace i would argue no more effective) dribbler but Bale was more decisive in key moments.

Agreed. There’s still a lot of bitterness towards Bale for rejecting United but he is certainly the best British player of the modern era if we judge it by influence and impact at the very highest level.
 
You’re comparing two totally different generations though, not exactly a reasonable comparison.

He cost 5 million more than Ronaldo and came with a big expectation, so not unreasonable to want him to do big numbers.

It doesn't matter. All that matters is the player. I don't care if he cost $.05 or $5000000000000. A player should be judged on their performance only. That's it. How much their club paid for them is irrelevant. All that matters is performance and Bale was better for Real Madrid than all of these other legends. The only difference is that for some reason they never took to him for some reason and because of that, he gave them a big FU and I don't blame him one bit
 
But he did live up to it in Spain, and then some. The thing is people expect him to put up Ronaldo and Messi numbers, but that's not going to happen. He was treated like sh*t. But when you look at the actual numbers, Gareth Bale was better for Real Madrid than Zidanne was. In fact, he was also better than Figo and Ronaldo (Brazil). This isn't my opinion. This is FACT

DzDOmw9WwAAlDBq

Such a lazy argument. Different teams, different eras, different roles.
 
Fantastic player he is/was. However, he stopped caring about the club that pays his wages about 4 years ago.

He stopped caring when the fans and the club stopped caring. I don't blame him. They treated him like shi*t after he was instrumental in winning a bunch of silverware and single handedly winning them a champions league. I applaud him. They want to treat him like sh*t? Fine then. He will happily sit on the bench and let the club waste wages on him
 
He stopped caring when the fans and the club stopped caring. I don't blame him. They treated him like shi*t after he was instrumental in winning a bunch of silverware and single handedly winning them a champions league. I applaud him. They want to treat him like sh*t? Fine then. He will happily sit on the bench and let the club waste wages on him

What? When? They were drawing in the 2 finals he scored in.... and at the point of him scoring, strong favourites to go on to win. So no, that's not true.

You could potentially make that claim for the Copa Del Rey when Barca we're the (minor) favourites when he scored. But still, not really.