Bale leaves Real Madrid leaving iconic moments in football history. Forever will be his spectacular gallop in the Cup final against Bartra, his header in the extension of the Decima, his penalty in the Undécima shootout (totally lame), his Chilean to Liverpool for the Decimotercera … But in League, little. The domestic competition has been his Achilles heel and this is confirmed by the data. It started as a shot, carrying the star banner with which it landed in La Castellana, but progressively it was fading.
If Bale has always had a handicap, it has been the ease of getting injured. That has deprived him of regularity, just what is needed in the League. He had plenty of quality and he showed it by leaving sparkles at the big events, but when it came to playing a game every weekend, he didn't shine.. He made his debut with a goal, scoring at El Madrigal against Villarreal. That performance would be exciting and, added to its galactic price, they would set the bar high.
And the truth is that his first two years are almost devoid of 'buts'. In the first, the 2013-14 season, he played 2,069 'and scored 15 goals. They were already good figures if one takes into account that he shared a lead with Cristiano Ronaldo, a goal monopoly, but the following year he would practically improve. In the 2014-15 season he would play 2,581 'in which he would score 13 goals. It would be its peak, from there the downhill would begin. The irregularity began to take its toll on him, to the point that just a year later he would remain at 7 goals.
The culmination of an announced eclipse would be its last two years. In the 2018-19 season He only played six complete games, playing a total of 29 of which in 15 he was substituted. He scored 8 goals. The last one, even worse. This season he has played 16 league games in which he has scored only 2 goals. Zidane lost confidence in him to the point that he stopped being a starter and began to be called off, even for the big events, such as the Etihad against City.
Bale celebrates the goal he scored in his league debut with Real Madrid.
Goodbye 16 titles later
He cardiff express has set course for London with four Champions League, two Leagues, four Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, one King's Cup and two Spanish Super Cups under the arm. His record is enviable and the history of football. But his records in the League, a mole in his career. Domestic competition has been his Achilles heel.