Gareth Bale was the focus of fury in the wake of Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in Sunday's El Clasico, after which a small group of fans lay in wait to attack his car.
The Welshman, the world's most expensive player, missed an easy change late in the first half and that, allied to a string of unimpressive performances for Real in his second season, has made him the target for supporters unhappy with the fact they now trail Barcelona by four points in the title race.
The squad retuned to the Spanish capital by plane only to discover a reception committee waiting for them outside their Valdebebas training ground.
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Video footage shows a small group of supporters outside the entrance to the ground insulting coach Carlo Ancelotti and lashing out at the car of young forward Jese. But the Daily Mirror says the fans reserved their greatest anger for Bale, and "as he pulled away, one fan struck the window at the driver's side with a fist and also hit out at the boot".
Fiery veteran defender Sergio Ramos, one of Real's captains and the man who has received the most red cards in the club's history, was also targeted by the disgruntled fans. Unlike Bale, however, who drove off, Ramos stopped and lowered his window to briefly remonstrate with one of his assailants.
Madrid reacted to the footage with a statement in which they said: "The club has already identified the individuals responsible, one a Real Madrid member, for these aggressive and violent actions against several of our players.
"Details of this member's identity have been sent to the club's Discipline Commission, requesting that it expel the individual from Real Madrid for what is considered a very serious offence."
The statement added that a disciplinary investigation was underway and that the club had also contacted Spain's National Anti-Violence Commission, drawing its attention to the incidents, and "requesting that it apply those sanctions that it considers appropriate"
It wasn't just the fans who didn't think much of Bale's display in the defeat to Barcelona. The press were savage in their analysis of his performance with one newspaper, AS, refusing to award him any marks in its ratings of the Real players, while another, Marca, wrote: "It's obvious [Real Madrid’s president] Perez has paid €100m for someone worth €20m."
Despite the ridicule, the Mirror claims that Bale won't be hounded out of Spain. The paper claims that while he's aware the two Manchester clubs want to sign him, the Welshman "is understood to be insistent that he can re-establish his reputation" with Real.
