Gareth Bale has been the subject of a scathing attack in the Spanish press as his Tottenham struggles continue.
The Welshman returned to north London on loan in the summer in a move that attracted plenty of attention.
Bale was a roaring success at Tottenham before leaving and had fallen down the pecking order at Real Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane had copped criticism for freezing Bale out at the Bernabeu with the pair clearly not seeing eye to eye.
But a piece published in Marca has highlighted how the Los Blancos boss may have been correct with Bale unable to even nail down a regular starting spot.
The forward has largely been used as a squad player by Jose Mourinho.
A recent illness ruled him out but the 31-year-old has only scored once in the Premier League so far.
The Spanish press also appeared to mock Bale's role as a "relegated" Europa League player with Mourinho often fielding weakened teams in the competition.
Throughout his time in Madrid the Welshman was seen as the scapegoat and endured a difficult relationship with both the media and his own fans, with Bale having to face boos from the Bernabeu crowd at times.
His mammoth salary made the situation even more complicated with Los Blancos unable to move him on.
It was a similar scenario for James Rodriguez, now of Everton.
The Colombian was signed in 2014 by Carlo Ancelotti but had become a peripheral figure as his time at Madrid went on.
He reunited with the Italian boss when he was at Bayern Munich and did so for a third time when he completed a move to Everton this summer.
Rodriguez got off to an impressive start as the Toffees topped the table early on, but injuries have halted his momentum.
Zidane's Madrid continue to struggle having scrapped through their Champions League group.
But the consensus in Spain is that the Frenchman has been proved right regarding his stance on Bale and Rodriguez.
