Gareth Bale: Wales star on the fringes as Real Madrid celebrate title triumph

Gareth Bale (bottom right) watches on from a distance as Real Madrid celebrate

Gareth Bale has won La Liga for a second time with Real Madrid, but his celebrations of the 2019-20 victory contrasted with his reaction to their title success in 2016-17.

Bale was an unused substitute in the game which secured Real's 34th Spanish league triumph, a 2-1 win over Villarreal on Thursday night.

The Welshman, who turned 31 on the day of the Villarreal victory, has become used to watching on from the sidelines in recent times.

Bale has made only 16 La Liga appearances - 12 of which have been starts - this season, and has featured in just two of their 10 games since the season resumed after lockdown in June.

He has made headlines for his actions while sitting alongside fellow substitutes at recent matches, and he appeared to be on the fringe of things once more as Zinedine Zidane's team celebrated the title.

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Bale was pictured standing at a distance with arms folded as manager Zidane was thrown in the air by some of his team-mates.

Gareth Bale celebrates Real Madrid's 2016-17 crown with Cristiano Ronaldo

Back in 2017, after Real sealed the title against Malaga, Bale joined revelled in the glory alongside then team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo and was pictured at the heart of his team's celebrations.

It has been a difficult season for Bale, who came close to leaving Real last summer.

He had been expected to join Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, with Zidane stating that his exit would be "best for everyone", but came back into the fold after Real called off the move at the last minute.

Former Tottenham star Bale, who joined Real for £85m in 2013, is under contract at the Bernabeu until 2022.

Gareth Bale was at the centre of Real Madrid's title celebrations in 2017

His second La Liga medal adds to the string of successes he has had in Spain, including four Champions Leagues, three Fifa Club World Cups, two Uefa Super Cups and one Copa del Rey.

Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, said last month that his client does not want to come back to the Premier League and is likely to see out his career as a Real player.