6 of the most disappointing players this season

#3 Gareth Bale

Bale has failed to step up since the departure of Ronaldo

The player most expected to benefit from the sale of Ronaldo, Gareth Bale arrived Real Madrid from Tottenham for a then world record fee on the back of his very impressive displays in the Premier League for the London team.

The Welshman was the star of the show at Spurs and everything at the club revolved around him, but on arriving Real had to take a backseat owing to the presence of the more talented and charismatic Ronaldo.

Over the next five seasons, Bale drifted in and out of the first team, as he struggled with injuries and form, failing to truly win over full sections of the notoriously demanding Bernabeu crowd.

However, for all the criticisms, on his day, Gareth Bale is undoubtedly a world class player and his displays for Tottenham and Wales where he was the star of the show are proof of that and he had shown fleeting examples of his undoubted class (such as his wonder goal in the UCL final against Liverpool) he was never going to get the opportunity to do so on a regular basis owing to Ronaldo.

Speculations had constantly linked him with a move away from the Spanish capital and the 29-year-old himself came out to address the situation after the UCL win, citing a need for improved playing time.

As it happened, Ronaldo departed Real after the World Cup and the stage was set for Bale to become the star of the show, as Ronaldo's sale offered him the space he had been craving for since his arrival five years ago.

However, things have been disappointing to say the least. Real have struggled in Ronaldo's absence and Bale has not had the same impact on matches that the Portuguese had.

He has failed to stamp his authority in the way Ronaldo did and has looked on haplessly as Real struggled for innovation upfront in scenes that would have been unthinkable had Ronaldo been present.

Two weekends ago, he scored the only goal in a hard fought 1-0 win away to struggling Huesca and that was his frist league goal in over 10 hours of football which is a poor return for someone suppoosedly expected to minimize the impact of Roanldo's departure.

Replacing a player like Ronaldo is downright impossible and while it was somewhat expected that the club would struggle in the new era, the quality of players available with Bale in particular meant that a cushion was expected but Bale has failed in his role.