Bale comes full circle
Gareth Bale cuold make his final Real Madrid appearance against Villarreal at the Estadio de La Cerámica on Saturday, the exact same stadium where his 'Los Blancos' career began.
On September 14 2013, just 13 days after Real Madrid agreed to pay €101m for his services in a deal that made him the world's most expensive footballer, Gareth Bale made his Real Madrid debut at the stadium then known as 'El Madrigal.
Four years and eight months later, the 'Cardiff Express' could be set to call time on his stay in the Spanish capital, with those in the know suggesting that Bale will feature in a weakened Real Madrid XI against the 'Yellow Submarine' as Zinedine Zidane looks to keep his squad fresh for next Saturday's Champions League final against Liverpool.
It was in that game in 2013 that the 'BBC' played together for the first time, for 61 minutes to be precise. However, having barely played prior to the match, Bale was by no means at his best, though he managed to get on the scoresheet regardless.
Now though, his future is less than certain. The Welsh wizard has spent more time on the bench than can reasonably be expected of a player of his quality this season and having lost his "untouchable status", looks likely to be on the bench again in Kiev.
Bale will see Saturday's clash as an opportunity to win back a place in the team ahead of the final, but that is likely to take some doing, with the 28-year-old having only started one Champions League game since September, when he was withdrawn at half-time of the second leg of the quarter-final clash with Juventus.
With speculation linking him with a return to the Premier League, Bale could now be set to end his Real Madrid career back where it all began.