Buyo: Fans want Bale to shine
Francisco Buyo says Real Madrid supporters simply want to see Gareth Bale at his best.
Real Madrid fans may "sometimes" not like Gareth Bale, but former goalkeeper Francisco Buyo believes they just want him to succeed.
The Wales star, who joined Real in a world record £85.3million deal in 2013, has been linked with a move away from the La Liga giants after a difficult time at the club.
Bale was jeered during his side's 2-1 friendly win over Galatasaray on Tuesday as he continues to struggle to live up to the fans' lofty expectations.
Buyo feels Real's demanding supporters simply want to see the 26-year-old reach his high standards.
"I don't think fans boo Gareth Bale. Sometimes they don't like him but it's all good. They want him to shine at Real," the former Real goalkeeper told Omnisport.
"I don't think the supporters whistle down at Gareth Bale, sometimes they show their unconformity like they do during trophy ceremonies at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"I think Real Madrid supporters want Bale to show his quality and skills as a player. He is going to be important for future Real Madrid success."
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Despite his world-record fee, Bale remains in the shadow of global superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Buyo said La Liga was lucky to have "football monsters" Messi and Ronaldo.
"Messi and Cristiano are players with different characteristics," he said.
"When I was Real Madrid keeper I was lucky to face, with all respects to Messi and Cristiano, the biggest player at that time: Diego Armando Maradona. Maradona has similar characteristics to Messi. And most of the time I was the 'winner' in the duel.
"Therefore, you can't be scared of any player. But the power of these football monsters is massive.
"And it is a lucky that both of them are in La Liga and, effectively, both can cause you many, many problems."