Gareth Bale’s New Contract Shows His Turnaround at Real Madrid Is Complete

Real Madrid’s start to the 2016/17 season has been near-perfect: a win in the UEFA Super Cup, an opening-day victory in LaLiga at Real Sociedad with a clean sheet and now news that several players are about to be tied down to new contracts.

Marca’s Carlos Carpio reported that the Spanish club are to hand Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Martin Odegaard new long-term deals, and while all three are cause for celebration for Los Blancos’ fans, it is Bale’s that is most noteworthy.

For a player who has previously not had the full backing of the support base, the local media or even the trust of his team-mates, it marks a complete turnaround for the Welsh winger.

The 27-year-old has now flown toward the top of the player hierarchy at Real, becoming a vital part of the team and viewed as one of the most reliable match-winners in European football.

Gareth Bale’s new rumoured contract at Real:€10m per year€830k per month€27k per day€1.1 per hour€18 per min pic.twitter.com/jMjA7RhkG7

— TheFootballRepublic (@TheFootballRep) August 24, 2016

    

Ratings and rants

Despite several seasons as a first-team starter since a huge move from Tottenham Hotspur, Bale was still having to convince some of his worth as recently as 10 months ago.

It was then that pundits on Spanish radio criticised Bale for putting country before club when he was injured for Wales and was unable to feature for Real Madrid.

On top of that, Marca gave Bale no rating whatsoever—the only player to receive a non-grade—when Barcelona beat them in El Clasico in March 2015 (h/t the Daily Mail’s Jonny Singer).

AS’ Tomas Roncero went further, as he suggested Bale had ridiculed Real Madrid after costing the team €100 million only to prioritise playing in an irrelevant match against Andorra instead of representing his club—Wales had already qualified for Euro 2016.  

The journalist said the Welshman’s decision was “inadmissible for a Real Madrid professional…Madrid is not a second-hand [option], Gareth” (link in Spanish).

With former manager Rafael Benitez opting to attempt a 4-2-3-1 with Bale at the centre of the attacking line at the beginning of last season, plenty in the Spanish national media, of all types, used that role alteration as a stick to beat Bale with as well as his manager.

It’s worth noting that despite Bale not hitting the heights he was capable of, and his fitness record being questionable at the start of 15/16, he actually performed reasonably well in the different …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com