While Bale is just the victim of a much bigger war.

When Gareth Bale completed his protracted move to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 the Bernabeu received him with open arms. The fans themselves had even chanted for Bale during Asier Illarramendi’s presentation two months previous. Bale fever had gripped Madrid and despite it taking long than most hoped, or expected, he was presented as a Real Madrid player on the 2nd of September.

Florentino Perez beamed from ear-to-ear after securing a player he saw as the heir apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale was delighted to fulfil his dream of playing for the biggest club in the world and Cristiano finally had someone to teach him how to take freekicks. The stage was set for Real Madrid to rule football both domestically and Europe.

His start at the club wasn’t ideal as he arrived carrying an injury. He had missed practically all of Tottenham’s preseason so required a lot of work to get up to speed but after an international break was given his debut against Villarreal on the 14th of September. It couldn’t have gone better as he scored 38 minutes in. Injuries were disrupting his involvement but when he was on the pitch everything appeared to be going to plan but it didn’t take long for Gareth to learn how unforgiving the crowd and press can be.

In only his second start for club, against Barcelona no doubt, he received his first bout of criticism after failing to adapt to his new role as a makeshift centre forward. Overall Bale’s displays in the league were of a high quality and if he didn’t chip in with goals, he did with assists. Perhaps he wasn’t quite hitting the form he’d shown at Tottenham but it would be unfair to expect that so soon. He was given the nickname “The Cannon” due to the ferocity of his shooting.

The real breakthrough moment for Bale in his first season at Madrid was his performance in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona. With the score at 1-1 in the 85th minute, Bale knocked the ball past Barta, even going off the pitch himself, but flying past the centre back and nutmegging Pinto to give Real the victory and the all important bragging rights,

It got even better for the Welshman as he scored in the Champions League final as well, putting Real Madrid ahead for the first time on the night. The club’s obsession with ‘La Decima’ was finally over and Bale had played a big part in making that dream come true.

He finished the season with 22 goals and 19 assists. Not bad at all.

In the following season the club added the UEFA Supercup and FIFA Club World Cup to their trophy cabinet and went on a 22-match winning streak that ended at the Mestalla. Gareth Bale was largely blamed for this loss as he had an opportunity to square a pass to Benzema but instead looked to score himself. The press called him a “chupón” which, when I was a kid, we called ball-greedy. Bale, to his credit responded to the “greedy” claims by saying, “I play the game in my way and that’s what I like, the press can say what they want.” This was just the tip of the iceberg.

As Real Madrid continued to falter the finger increasingly began to point at the Welshman. He was the easy target. And it got a lot worse for him in March when Florentino Perez went to war with MARCA and AS over their front pages saying Carlo Ancelotti would be sacked if the team performed badly against Barcelona.

Perez called a press conference to deny this story and the overall reporting of the club. He also took exception to stories ran by the AS newspaper publishing what they claimed the actual debt of the club was - circa €600m. He sued the same newspaper soon after because they claimed Florentino’s purchase of James and Keylor Navas were in part due to his Madrid based construction company, ACS, looking to expand in Colombia and Costa Rica respectively.

This war between the Real Madrid president and the local press didn’t do Bale any favours as he was often seen as Perez’s favourite. So of course, whenever the Welshman had a poor game or made a bad decision, it was immediately all over the front of both newspapers. He famously cupped his ears to the fans after scoring against Levante in protest at the criticism he was, in his mind, unfairly receiving. It didn’t stop the whistles and, if anything, gave the newspapers further ammunition.

As Real’s season limped to a finish, ultimately costing Ancelotti his job, Bale still managed to contribute a respectable 17 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.

This season has started much the same and we’re only one game in! Academy players Isco and Jese were poor against Sporting Gijon. Isco failing to take advantage of his start ahead of James Rodriguez and Jese anonymous as he tried to fill the gap left by the injured Benzema. Instead of criticising those two, it appears it is Bale’s fault again and his new position causing disruption to those around him.

There’s no doubting that Gareth has been underwhelming at times, guilty of making the wrong choices and failing to adapt to his defensive responsibilities in the side. No one is trying to deny that. But the fact remains that this press assassination of Gareth Bale continues due to his president’s unfortunate showdown with the two most influential newspapers in Madrid.

So what’s the solution then? Does Bale up sticks and return to England? No, and despite some parts of the British media trying to convince you otherwise, it isn’t something the player wants, nor his club. He continues to have the full backing of Florentino Perez and is determined to leave a legacy of his time at Real Madrid.

The solution for Gareth is simple: perform on the pitch. Coming out and confronting the criticism would only stoke the fire but producing match-winning displays and, above all, helping the team win trophies would make it all go away - until the next bad run of form, of course. He’s been given a more influential role in the side and it’s time for Bale to repay the faith shown in him and begin to do his talking on the pitch again. Only then will he be left truly in peace.