Gareth Bale to get Champions League Final Start
Gareth Bale’s fourth season at Real Madrid since is record £86 million move from Tottenham draws to a close on Saturday in the Champions League Final, in what could be his last game for Los Blancos.
Rumours about his future have never been far from the back pages with suggestions a deal has already been done with Manchester United, while a potential return to Spurs and the chance to join German giants Bayern Munich, have also been doing the rounds.
The player himself has always insisted he is happy in Madrid and wants to continue playing at the Santiago Bernabeu, although a few months back this looked unlikely after falling behind the likes of Isco and Marco Asensio in the pecking order.
Adding to this, a clear out seems likely after the Spanish giants finished the season 17 points behind their bitter rivals and La Liga title winners Barcelona. To make matters worse, bragging rights go to their city rivals Atletico, who will finish above them in the table, something that will not sit well with the Real faithful.
Hard work and a return to form over the last month appears to given Bale a bit of a lifeline and not only in his bid to book his starting spot in the Champions League Final against Liverpool, but also the prospect of remaining at the club.
The Welshman has been plagued by calf injuries since he moved to the continent with the same issue hampering the first half of his season, much to the frustration of Zidane and the Real supporters. However, the Welshman has kept his head down and delivered 13 goals in his last 16 matches for the club, much to the delight of his manager Zidane who has hinted that Bale will play a key role in their bid to be crowned champions of Europe for a fourth time in five years.
Not the result we wanted to finish La Liga. One more game to go now .. ⚽ pic.twitter.com/pss1CI8Iy7
— Gareth Bale (@GarethBale11) May 19, 2018
Speaking after their final league clash of the season against Villarreal, in which Bale scored again, Zidane threw his weight behind the Welshman saying, ‘He has never given up. He has kept working hard on the training ground and If there is a difference now it’s the goals that he is scoring recently because he has been on a great run. He is happy and full of confidence on the pitch.’
Hearing his manager talk like this will give Bale a massive boost ahead of the final showpiece and will be confident of getting that starting spot in Kiev.
As for his long term future, well this is Real Madrid, who knows what they hierarchy are thinking. From a footballing perspective there is simply no reason to sell a player that is in his prime and only 28-years-of-age. During his four years at the club, Bale has scored 70 goals in 126 matches, hardly the return you would expect from a player that is surplus to requirements!
Granted injuries have most likely cost him an additional 50 odd appearances over the last four years, however surely he deserves to be backed?
As already mentioned, Bale is still approaching his prime and leaving Madrid at this stage of his career will surely be seen as taking a few steps back in an already successful spell with the club that has seen him lift 10 pieces of silverware, making him the most successful UK footballer to play in Europe.
