Real Madrid survived an almighty scare in the Champions League on Wednesday night, but Cristiano Ronaldo was reportedly far from happy with Gareth Bale.
Los Blancos looked set to cruise into the semi-finals of the competition having secured a 3-0 away win at Juventus in the first leg in Turin last week.
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However, the Spanish giants and reigning European champions found themselves 3-0 down at the Bernabeu and heading for extra-time, only for Ronaldo to score a decisive, and controversial, injury-time penalty to secure their place in the last four.
Zinedine Zidane had seen enough at half-time as he made a double substitution with Bale coming off after failing to impress in the opening 45 minutes, and according to Don Balon, as re-reported by The Express, Ronaldo was also frustrated with Bale’s attitude throughout.
It’s claimed that Bale’s negativity despite Madrid’s more positive moments over both legs in the tie didn’t sit well with Ronaldo, amid ongoing speculation that the Welshman could be set to quit Real Madrid this summer.
Given his previous injury record, and now coupled with an inability to convince Zidane to make him a regular starter, it doesn’t look particularly promising for Bale.
The former Tottenham man has enjoyed a glittering spell in the Spanish capital when it comes to silverware having won multiple Champions League trophies and a La Liga title amongst many others, but his standing in the current side is coming under threat.
Madrid looked more of an attacking threat with Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez on the pitch in the second half, while the duo did their fair share of defending too.
In turn, it will be interesting to see if Bale gets many more opportunities between now and the end of the season to make a positive impact, or if his reported attitude also counts against him and leaves him on the sidelines ahead of a potential exit.