Gareth Bale’s performances when fit for Real Madrid are “impossible to criticise”, says John Toshack, with the Wales international a success story in Spain despite his chequered injury record.
The 30-year-old forward starred for the Blancos in the immediate aftermath of a record-breaking transfer in the summer of 2013.
All too familiar fitness issues quickly set in, though, and Bale has become a scapegoat for many in the Spanish capital.
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For some, he has refused to fully immerse himself in a new culture – with a reluctance to conduct interviews in Spanish considered to be an example of that – while questions have been asked of his overall contribution to the cause for some time.