5 reasons Gareth Bale needs to leave Madrid

The World's most expensive player has had a turbulent season in Madrid and with their unceremonious dumping from the Champions League earlier this week, he needs to consider his future. There are 5 good reasons as to why he needs to move on:

1.   Fans have lost faith in him.

The Real Madrid faithful can be a volatile bunch at the best of times (just ask Iker Casillas) but on more than one occasion there have been boos around the Bernabeu due to Bale's perceived poor performances.  He would have to turn in a number of man of the match displays to have any hope of changing the fans views.

2. He'll never be as good as Ronaldo.

Who will be though? A player such as Madrid's iconic number 7 comes along once in a generation,  if even that often, and with Bale's price tag exceeding the ex-Man United star's,  his performances will inevitably be compared to Ronaldo's. Its doubtful he will be able reach those heady heights though.

3. He needs to be a big fish again.

Part of the issue he faces with being one of the Galacticos is that there are so many high profile names in the team to compete with.  In order to stand out, he needs to put in consistent,  8 or 9 out of 10 performances each week.  It appears that just 'being one of the team' isn't working for him.

4. Other clubs will give him time.

Bale has been at Real for nearly 2 seasons now.  His stunning run and finish in last season's Copa del Rey against Barcelona as well as his goal in the Champions league final against City rivals Atletico effectively bought him another season at the club,  but he has failed to sustain such high levels of performance in the current year. Other clubs particularly in the premier league will be more forgiving.

5. He doesn't fit in to the playing style.

Unfortunately with Ronaldo,  Kroos,  Benzema,  James Rodriguez,  Isco,  and Luka Modric vying for attacking places within the Madrid team it's difficult to see how Bale's talents and style are going to be used effectively.  He is a rangy,  pacey, counter attacking player who works best given space to turn and run with the ball and being allowed to cut inside. Real's set up is based around pressing high up the field in order to win the ball back as early as possible and therefore dominate possession and territory.  Either Bale adapts to work in this style, or he moves on. Madrid will not change for him.