Real Madrid and Gareth Bale facing another summer stand-off with Welsh winger in no hurry to leave

Gareth Bale was a peripheral figure in Real Madrid's title celebrations last week. While his team-mates threw coach Zinedine Zidane in the air, he stood and watched – detached from it all.

It was the Welshman's second league title since signing from Tottenham in 2013, yet he had not played much of a part. Bale had not scored in LaLiga since September 1 and was on the pitch for just 100 minutes in two appearances since the restart.

Prior to the 2-1 win over Villarreal, Zidane had been asked whether it would be better for everybody and for the dressing room if Bale left. "Man, what a question," he said. "Gareth is one of us. He wants what we want."

The Frenchman seemed genuinely annoyed, but it was more likely by the timing of the question: Real Madrid were on the brink of winning the title and at that critical point, their coach was not prepared to contemplate controversy.

But Bale did not feature against Villarreal and in Los Blancos' final fixture, he was left out of the squad altogether. "A technical decision," Zidane said.

That was not true. Zidane had picked a 22-man squad for the trip to Leganes. With 11 starters and 12 substitutes permitted, there was one place left, yet Bale was not given it.

More likely, it was a strategic decision. In the final game of last season, Bale had been an unused substitute against Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu, depriving him of what was in theory a chance to say goodbye.

It was a clear message to the player that he was not part of Zidane's plans. And in the summer, with the Welshman on the brink of a move to Jiangsu Suning, the Frenchman said: "If he is gone tomorrow, all the better."

He almost was, but Madrid demanded a fee and the transfer fell through. They have probably been regretting it ever since.

Bale earned a reprieve at the beginning of the campaign as summer signing Eden Hazard suffered an injury and Marco Asensio was sidelined after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in pre-season.

In the early weeks of the season, he was important, assisting Karim Benzema in the 3-1 win over Celta Vigo and scoring both goals in the 2-2 draw at Villarreal. He also started away to Paris Saint-Germain and again at Sevilla.

After that, though, he began to fade out of the picture as Zidane trusted others more. There were also whistles from fans following the 'Wales. Golf. Madrid' celebration, while his professionalism was called into question by the Madrid media.

And by the end of the season, Bale was reduced to a figure of fun messing around the stands as he feigned sleep in one game and made pretend binoculars with a roll of medical tape in another.

Back in late August, there was a suggestion that the winger might sit tight and wait for another coach with Zidane's future uncertain, but the Frenchman is very much in favour again now after winning LaLiga.

Zidane described Bale as "one of the best" when he arrived as coach in January 2016 and the Welshman was important en route to the first of those three Champions League crowns.

In October of that year, he signed a new long-term contract which made him Madrid's second-highest-paid player after Cristiano Ronaldo. And when the Portuguese joined Juventus in 2018, he became the team's top earner.

Bale is currently doing little to justify his huge wages of around £350,000 after tax, yet he has not been given much chance to either.

But he is no hurry to move. The 31-year-old likes life in Madrid, with his family also happy in the Spanish capital, and he seems set on seeing out his contract unless he can earn a similar deal elsewhere.

That is almost impossible. Very few clubs in world football have the funds to pay Bale's enormous salary and the ones that do are looking at younger players with better injury records. And possibly more motivation too.

China was an opportunity for Madrid and their insistence on a fee has hurt them. Since then, Los Blancos have paid Bale a whole year's wages and now, there is a real chance they will need to continue doing so for two more seasons.

Bale's contract is up in 2022 and paying it off would cost close to €60 million, money which Madrid do not have to hand post-pandemic. Shelling out all that and then seeing him play next season somewhere else is also the kind of humiliation president Florentino Perez would be unlikely to consider.

The winger's agent, Jonathan Barnett, said this week that Bale will not leave this summer. He was also asked if his client could go out on loan with next summer's European Championship in mind and rejected that idea completely.

A move to MLS could appeal and Bale has expressed an interest in that possibility. Perhaps David Beckham could do his old club a favour and take the Welshman to Inter Miami, under pressure after starting their debut season with five straight defeats.

For now, though, another summer stand-off between Bale and Real Madrid looks to be on the cards and although the fans are frustrated, it is a situation partly created by the club for the contract, the China snub and their treatment of a player who has contributed significantly – albeit not always consistently – in one of their greatest eras.

Whatever happens now, there is unlikely to be a happy ending. In fact, there might not even be an ending at all for the foreseeable future.