Gareth Bale causing Real Madrid controversy?

Is Gareth Bale asking Real Madrid for too much money?

Gareth Bale is undoubtedly one of the best attacking players in the world. Now reports from Spain claim the Welshman is causing drama at Real Madrid for asking to be compensated as such.

Rumors claim that the former Tottenham star is looking to renew his contract for an annual salary of more than 17 million pounds per year. That sort of wage package would make him the highest paid player for the La Liga giants.

As the story goes, some of Bale’s teammates don’t believe he’s worth that sort of money. He’s never gotten the same reception from Madrid’s passionate fan base as he did from the Spurs faithful. They’ve appreciated his skill, but never really embraced him as one of their own.

They’ve reserved that sort of praise for Cristiano Ronaldo. He is still widely regarded as the club’s best player, despite statistical evidence that Bale has passed him by. For example, Bale’s Whoscored.com player rating average of 8.12 last season clips Ronaldo’s average of 7.99. Both had excellent La Liga campaigns, but Bale’s was slightly superior.

Bale also has the advantage of being four years younger than his Portuguese teammate. That’s why now is the right time for him to push to become the club’s top earner. He’s squarely in his footballing prime while Ronaldo’s contributions are likely to start going backwards. The gap between the two stars is only going to grow over the next season or two.

If the reports of discord in the Madrid dressing room are true, it’s safe to say that Ronaldo is behind the “mutiny.” He has a lot of wonderful qualities as a football player, but he’s never been described as unselfish on or off the pitch. It’s easy to envision him becoming jealous of his prolific teammate.

Ultimately, this report has the feel of a greatly exaggerated story. There probably are a few Madrid players who are jealous of the type of contract Bale might get, but that’s the case at almost every club. Don’t expect this to become an issue that truly impacts things at Real Madrid. You’ll continue to see it in the tabloids, but evidence of it on the pitch will be quite scarce.