When Gareth Bale is mentioned of late, a cloud of negativity seems to be hanging over the Welshman no matter how he performs on the pitch.

Yes, injuries have no doubt stunted Bale’s ability to record incredible individual seasons during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. However, take this season for example, despite missing eight games through injury, Bale has already recorded 10 goals and 4 assists without being a consistent starter in a troubled post-Ronaldo Real Madrid team.

Let’s take it back to when it all started for Bale in Madrid. On September 1st, 2013, Gareth Bale signed for a then world record transfer fee of £85.1 million, signing a six-year deal, the Welshman surpassed teammate Cristiano Ronaldo’s former world record fee of £80 million.

After a relatively slow first half of his debut season, down to injuries and inconsistent playing time, two of Bale’s most iconic Los Blancos moments came in the final two months of the season.

First came that ridiculous road runner like goal in the 2014 El Clasico Copa Del Rey Final, running off the pitch to power past helpless Barcelona defender Marc Batra, before calmly tucking the ball under Jose Pinto’s legs to score the game-winning goal. Single-handedly winning a Ronaldo-less Madrid team the Copa del Rey. The goal was the Wales international’s first El Clasico goal and his 20th of the season.

Then, just over a month later on Saturday May 24th, 2014, Bale was quickest to react to a deflected Angel Di Maria shot to head Real into a 2-1 lead in the 2014 Champions League final. Bale’s 110th-minute extra-time goal against city rivals Atletico Madrid was the catalyst for the victory. Two further extra-time goals from Marcelo and Ronaldo sealed Real Madrid ‘La Decima’ in their first European Cup win since 2002. Bale finished his debut season in Madrid with two trophies, 22 goals, and 16 assists, an outstanding debut season in what so far has turned out to be his most prolific goalscoring season at the club. Never shy of a goal in a major final, the Welshman notched Madrid’s second goal in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final held in Marrakesh, Morocco. A 2-0 victory against Argentine side San Lorenzo secured Real its first ever FIFA Club World Cup win. Bale finished the tournament as the top scorer. Following up his debut season, Bale produced 17 goals and 10 assists as the Madrid front three of Bale, Benzema, and Cristiano, dubbed the BBC, recorded an incredible 100 goals in the 2014/15 season. Bale’s injury problems in 2015/16 are well documented and through various injuries, he missed 15 games for Madrid. Appearing in 31 games he still produced remarkable numbers of 19 goals and 12 assists for the season despite missing over two months with injuries. On March 23rd, 2016, Bale scored his 43rd La Liga goal in the 4-0 defeat of Sevilla surpassing Gary Lineker as the all-time leading British goalscorer in the competition. Bale managed to feature 19 times for Los Blancos as they won a 33rd La Liga title, finishing three points above Barcelona with 93 points. A regular in the teams run to the 2016 Champions League final, the Wales captain provided an assist to his team’s only goal in the final. Bale also scored a penalty in the shoot-out victory over city rivals Atletico Madrid. A second Champions League trophy in three seasons for Real Madrid, even with Cristiano Ronaldo as a teammate, he hasn’t shied away from producing the standout moment in multiple European finals. Missing 29 games in the 16/17 season, Bale, as you would guess, had the worst statistical season of his Real Madrid career, producing 9 goals and 4 assists in 27 games. Despite an injury-hit season, the forward returned from injury to feature in the 2017 Champions League final in his hometown of Cardiff, coming on as a second-half substitute in the 4-1 win against Juventus. The first half of the 2017/18 season was injury hit once again for Bale, missing 14 games. Recovering from a relatively poor goalscoring season in 2016/17, the Welshman responded with 20 goals and 5 assists in a significantly improved season, with 16 of those goals coming in 26 La Liga games. Like superstar teammate Ronaldo had done in the 2017 Champions League final, Bale made the 2018 final in Kiev his final. Coming on as a substitute in the 61st minute against Liverpool, he became the first player to score two goals as a substitute in the final. Earning the man-of-the-match award as Real won a record third successive Champions League title. The first goal will go down as one of, if not the greatest goal in Champions League history. Think Zidane’s goal in the 2002 final or Ronaldo’s overhead kick in the 2017/18 quarter-final against Juventus. Bale’s overhead kick was simply unbelievable and will be debated by many as the greatest goal ever scored in the Champions League. Perhaps one of the biggest indicators of Bale’s true value came in August of 2018, in the first month of a post-Ronaldo Real Madrid, he was named as Real Madrid’s player of the month having scored against both Getafe and Girona to start the season. Thirteen major trophies, 101 goals, and 63 assists in 221 games in the Spanish capital, Bale has undoubtedly suffered injury problems during his time in Madrid, however, the criticism he faces despite his undeniable success at the Santiago Bernabeu is massively overblown. Whatever his injury issues, Gareth Bale is a man who deserves a lot more respect for his contribution to the trophy-laden years at Real Madrid alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.