Gareth Bale ’s isolation at Real Madrid has been captured in footage from inside the dressing room after the club’s huge comeback win over Sevilla on Sunday.
Real came from 2-0 down at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium to win 3-2 and move 15 points clear of rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Ivan Rakitic’s free-kick and Erik Lamela’s tap-in put Sevilla two goals up after just 25 minutes and stun the champions-elect.
But substitute Rodrygo turned in after the break to halve the deficit and set up a dramatic finish. Real controversially had a Vinicius Jr goal ruled out by VAR for a handball, but it did not matter, with Nacho scoring with his first touch after coming on to make it 2-2 before Karim Benzema smashed in the winner in the 92nd minute.
Victory was a major step on Real’s path to winning La Liga, with just six games remaining. Carlo Ancelotti’s side were understandably delighted with their dramatic comeback in Andalucia and footage from the club’s Twitter account showed the players returning to the dressing room to celebrate.
In it the players can be seen cheering, congratulating themselves, shouting “vamos!” and generally enjoying themselves. But there is one player who is not involved: Bale.
The Welshman cuts an awkward figure in the corner of the changing room. While all his team-mates and the coaching staff jump around singing, high-fiving and hugging, Bale is seen standing motionless, refusing to join in.
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As has often been the case this season, Bale did not get onto the pitch against Sevilla. He was an unused substitute, watching as Rodrygo, Nacho, Marco Asensio and Mariano Diaz were all called onto the pitch by Ancelotti ahead of him.
The 32-year-old has made just seven appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos this season and will leave once his contract expires on July 1. He has two goals and two assists for Wales this season, yet just one goal for his club side.
Bale has been with Real for nine years, since his blockbuster transfer from Tottenham in September 2013. He has contributed 106 goals and 67 assists in 258 appearances for the Spanish giants, yet has endured a few frustrating campaigns in Madrid over the past few years.
Speaking in February, Ancelotti all but confirmed we are in the last few months of Bale’s career with Real. "His contract is about to end and it could be that he didn't have much motivation in recent times,” he said. "Now he's feeling good, and he wants to end his time here as he deserves, because Bale has brought many titles to this club. He helped the club to win the Champions League and Copa Del Rey titles, so I think that ending his time here on a high would be good for his career.”
He added: "The personal relationship with him and the other players is good, I can't blame him for anything. As long as a player is serious, professional and respects the rules and the people he works with, our personal relationship will be good. He's always done that and never failed. Then, Gareth has had injuries which didn't allow him [to play]."
