“Irrelevant.”

“A mistake.”

Not exactly what a player wants to see written about them after making their Clasico debut. Alas, while fellow first-timer Neymar was taking the plaudits for his part in Barcelona’s 2-1 win on Saturday, that was just a taste of the criticism being levelled at Gareth Bale after a drab performance for Real Madrid.

A kinder soul would perhaps suggest that, barely back in full training a week and then played out of position for much of the match at the Camp Nou, there were reasons for Bale’s poor performance.

But after being removed around the hour mark by Carlo Ancelotti, the Spanish press were in little mood for being even-handed in their assessment of the world’s most expensive player.

As relayed by the Daily Telegraph, Bale was branded “irrelevant” by Barcelona daily El Mundo, while Madrid’s El Pais stated that Los Blancos “continue to play better when their star signing is not on the pitch.”

The influential Marca, meanwhile, suggested that Bale is already beginning to lose the patience of some within the club’s hierarchy—a bold claim.

Columnist Ruben Jimenez wrote:

Real Madrid's worst performer at the Nou Camp was Gareth Bale. The Welshman was not match ready, does not have enough spark and a series of mistakes made by Real Madrid, the Welsh national team and the player himself hang heavily around his neck, hindering his progress. Bale is feeling the pressure and has yet to play a full 90 minutes during his first two months at the Spanish giants.

Ancelotti defended his charge in the aftermath, however.

“I think he needs to find how to combine with his team-mates,” said Ancelotti after the game. “Physically, he was fine—he just needs to look for more combinations.

“He needs to improve his movement and look for space but he was not bad in the one hour he played.”

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The Telegraph’s own assessment was slightly different. Columnist Jonathan Liew, in his invariably irreverent style, suggested Bale’s malaise was simply the fate of any ex-Premier League star moving into the more dangerous waters of La Liga.

Liew wrote:

The most telling indicator of Bale’s malaise is not a lack of energy, but a surfeit. At Tottenham Hotspur, he would roam effortlessly, quick but never troubled. Now, he looks so terribly hurried, like a man late for his own wedding: shimmying past startled pedestrians, eyes bulging with horror, the tails of his morning suit billowing as he goes. Not that Bale is unique in this regard. All around him lay the debris of illustrious Premier League careers, sung to shipwreck by a bewitching, diamond-encrusted vision of Clasico night. There, frowning, was Luka Modric: still showing for the ball, but with a fraction of his Tottenham influence, the conductor of the orchestra reduced to parping on the bassoon. There was Cesc Fabregas, reared at La Masia, so talismanic at Arsenal, so upsettingly extrinsic now: auxiliary, inessential, a custard cream on a plate of chocolate digestives. And Alex Song, a man who migrated south with dreams of becoming The Man, only to become The Man Who Comes On When Xavi Gets Tired.

Who knows, maybe Gareth Bale will one day become The Man Who Comes on When Ronaldo Gets Tired.

For now, though, the Spanish press would seemingly be reluctant to back him even if he aimed that high.