The recent purchase of Welsh “superstar” Gareth Bale by Real Madrid has stirred a storm from certain factions of their fans, so what are the risks attached to the signature of the newly most expensive player in footballing history?
Well, firstly, due to him being a highly tuned athlete, that brings risks in itself. There is a fine borderline when you’re a professional athlete – you’re either constantly on the brink of an injury, due to being a lightweight as such, you’re one hefty tackle from being left as rubble because as the laws of the human body dictate – the lighter you are, the quicker you will be as a pro athlete, meaning you’re not as sturdy as others.
This also leads into your muscles being significantly more prone to tearing and pulling, or the “Michael Owen” syndrome as a like to call it. The ex England striker said he felt a pop in his hamstring aged 19 and said it never healed nor felt the same from the point onwards, so if Bale has one hyperextension of those lovely legs, it could be a huge chunk of games his misses in the near future and maybe lead into a reoccurring thing in his career.
Obviously, they are a bit ‘hit and miss’ for obvious reasons, but it’s part and parcel of football at the highest level, which means another thing for the Welshman to contend with.
Pressure, and a whole lot of it, too. You look at the previous people who have gone abroad to play for Madrid from the British Isles and you’ve got David Beckham, who was arguably at the height of his career at Manchester United and had already been runner up in FIFA World Player Of The Year awards in both 1999 and 2001, along with a Young Player of The Year award in ‘97. Michael Owen was the same, with him being apart of the Liverpool team that won the treble of UEFA Cup, FA Cup and the League Cup in 2001 and inevitably led to him winning the Ballon d’Or in the same year. These players were proven to be world class, but has Gareth Bale done what Beckham or Owen did before their move to Madrid?
No, not at all.
Admittedly, he does have massive potential to fulfill and I must admit, I do want him to succeed at Real Madrid. But I think we all have witnessed players who are a lot better be chewed out and spit out by the machine that is Los Blancos.
I think it was a season early for Gareth, personally. I have no doubt he can play for Madrid but an £85 million price tag due to the second half of last season, where he was a wrecking crew for Tottenham is a tad ludicrous.
He’s got to realise he isn’t the star boy who can do no wrong in north London now – he is one of many class players at Madrid and rightly so will be second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s not invincible anymore and Perez will only be patient with him for so long if he doesn’t perform at the cauldron that is the Santiago Bernabeau.
Oh well, I’m an Arsenal fan and we got Mesut Ozil out of it, so it’s a win-win for us.
