Some rumors just write themselves even before they come out. While we’ve heard nothing but praise from Gareth Bale about his new Real Madrid teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, those wishing the club and the player “well” in Spain have already surfaced some rumors about Ronaldo not being happy that he’s no longer the most expensive footballer on the planet.
There’s a good chance that those floating the rumors are either simply journalists looking for some attention, or someone with Barcelona on his mind, using the new signing as a mean to distabalize the situation at Real Madrid.
How big of an ego does Ronaldo have? Pretty big, there’s no doubt, but there’s been no indication that he actually minds Gareth Bale being paid so much. Ronaldo still hasn’t signed a new contract, and the differences in versions between what he and Florentino Perez say about the situation is an excellent example as to how bad the rift is between the two, but it had nothing to do with Bale.
If Ronaldo was actually against Bale arriving for so much money, he would have tried to block the transfer, and that would have gotten out. Things don’t stay quiet in Real Madrid for very long. He might not be the happiest man in the world because it forces him to move from the position he prefers to play in (unless Carlo Ancelotti finds a new role for Bale), but he’s no stranger to the supporting striker – centre forward role he’s been playing in since the start of the season.
Bale himself mentioned a number of times during his introduction to the club and its fans that Ronaldo is a big reason for coming here; he’s the best player in the world, and all the obvious and expected sayings. Just how much the manager wanted him? Bale was on Real’s shopping list long before Carlo Ancleotti came to town. The departure of Mesut Ozil was the cost for Bale’s arrival, although there’s a disagreement on whether Real Madrid actually had to sell him in order to raise the money, or was it simply not planning on having such a player on the bench, with Ozil pushing for a way out once he realized this isn’t going to be his year with Los Blancos.
Cristiano Ronaldo is still the king in Madrid, at least on the football pitch. But Bale’s arrival might bring unforeseen tensions that have to do with pride, ego and maybe even make some tactical sense. However, making these allegations so soon into this newish era is irresponsible, and there’s no indication to the fact that Ronaldo is actually unhappy with the arrival of Bale.