On April 30, 2022, Real Madrid were crowned champion of La Liga. El Merengue won its 35th La Liga title and the 97th title in the club's history. The team managed by Carlo Ancelotti defeated Espanyol 4-0 on Matchday 34 of the 2021-2022 La Liga season, and celebrated on the field and then together with the fans at Plaza Cibeles.
More than 25,000 fans celebrated the new title with the players, however, the celebrations were not so wild as the players have their minds set on the match against Manchester City for the second leg of the 2021-2022 Champions League Semi-final.
The title was not only important for the club but also for Ancelotti and Marcelo. They both made history. The 62-year-old coach became the first one to win all five major European leagues, doing so with Milan, Chelsea, PSG, Bayern Munich, and Real Madrid. While the Brazilian became the player with the most titles in Real Madrid's history, Marcelo won his 24th title and surpassed Gento, who won 23. What was striking was that Gareth Bale did not celebrate the title. He was not present on the pitch or at Plaza Cibeles.
Why didn't Bale celebrate Real Madrid's title?
Bale had trained normally before the match against Espanyol and it was not until after the session that he said his back was hurting. After that, the Welshman was not called up for the match. It was expected to see him at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium stands, but he was not there. Bale was also not part of the celebrations at Plaza Cibeles.
"So disappointed that I'm not able to be part of the celebrations this evening due to a bad back spasm but really proud of the team for winning the title! Enjoy tonight boys!", the 32-year-old tweeted later when the festivities were drawing to a close.
The Welshman moved to the Bernabeu in a blockbuster deal in 2013 and has since won a string of major titles, including four Champions Leagues and now three domestic league titles. However, his input on that third and final triumph has been severely limited, having played just five times all season - scoring one goal. Bale will become a free agent at the end of the season, and it has already been confirmed he will be moving on at the expiration of his current contract.
