Gareth Bale was up to his usual tricks for Real Madrid on Monday night.It's beggar belief that the Welshman is still on the books at the Bernabeu with it being made abundantly clear by Zinedine Zidane that he doesn't feature in his plans going forward.Nevertheless, Los Blancos are still having to pay around £350,000-a-week for one of their most expensive ever signings despite not seeing him play a full 90 minutes since January.

String of controversy for Bale

But what makes Bale's situation at the club all the more amusing is that, either by design or accident, the player seems to be taking the mickey out of his situation at every turn.

Real fans' frustrations with the winger can be traced back to the infamous 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order' banner, which he displayed on Wales duty upon qualifying for Euro 2020.

Since then, Bale has been sure to chip in - pun intended - with a few amusing swings in training and even golf poses for photographs that simply must have been self-aware.

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Bale's recent bench antics

However, Bale's situation at the Bernabeu seems to have become even more farcical since the return from lockdown with the 30-year-old treating us to some bizarre antics on the bench.

Bale had everyone in footballing world - aside from Real fans, of course - in stitches when he was seen lounging around on the bench during the Alaves game.

The Welshman was spotted with his protective mask over his eyes, his leg on the seats in front of him and frankly, you'd be mistake for thinking he'd gone to sleep. 

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Latest shenanigans vs Granada

And you'll be thrilled to hear that Bale has continued his streak of trolling his employers by once again fooling around on the bench during Real's trip to Granada on Monday night.

Just 15 minutes into the tie, Bale's boredom had clearly peaked as he was photographed using a roll of wrist tape as a telescope, looking around completely uninterested.

You can check out the snaps down below as well as some of the most amusing reactions: 

Farcical situation in Madrid

Oh, Gareth, you don't help yourself sometimes.

It's easy for us to get a quick laugh out of the situation here in England, but the more you think about it, the more farcical the situation feels and it certainly isn't lost on those in Spain.

Marca reporter Ruben Jimenez even wrote, per Wales Online: "Bale hasn't contributed anything to Real Madrid's journey to the league title. He walked for a while against Eibar and played just over an hour against Mallorca. 

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Slammed in the Spanish press

"Zinedine Zidane no longer orders him to warm up. As with James Rodriguez, the coach is very clear on who he can count on for this final stretch of the season, who is going to give their all to win the title and who feels more comfortable in the stands.

"It's clear that Bale cannot be resuscitated at Real Madrid. If he still has a drop of football left in his boots, it's up to him to decide. His agent doesn't stop saying that he is going to fulfil his contract with the club, which ends in 2022.

"Does he intend to be laughing in the stands until 2022? Does he not have self-esteem, desire for revenge or to play football?" 

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Maybe Bale was using the wrist tape to look for a new club... or a driving range, of course.