Gareth Bale is being criticised by the Spanish media who are already starting to question whether the former Tottenham winger is worth the £86m Real Madrid paid for him.

Bale scored on his debut against Villareal but has not started the three games since due to injury.

The 24-year-old came on as a substitute in a victory over Galatasaray and also featured off the bench against Atletico Madrid on Saturday but was unable to prevent his team losing 1-0.

Marca, the publication that spent most of the summer leading the campaign to sign Bale, has now questioned whether buying Bale and selling Mesut Ozil was the right decision.

Assistant editor Santiago Segurola writes: "The sale of Ozil is an historic error. Real Madrid has got rid of its second best player. He's a 24-year-old player who brought out the best in everyone around him, especially Cristiano Ronaldo."

He continued: "I might be wrong, because Gareth Bale has joined late and has barely had a pre-season, but he seems to be a one-dimensional player, who is not so involved in the dynamic side of the game."

Bale's underwhelming display against Atletico was heavily criticised by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

Jouralist Jesus Galindo wrote: "The man who cost just € 101 million contributed nothing to the team in its debut in the derby.

"He showed desire, but lacked speed, one of his main features, and did not look comfortable on the right wing, where he had been placed by Carlo Ancelotti. His attacking edge was limited to a left-foot shot from the edge of the area stopped by Courtois.

"Besides that drew applause from the stands when they saw him on the field, otherwise Bale debut at the Bernabeu went virtually unnoticed . The 101 million euros that Florentino Perez invested his signing , were not reflected in his game.

"Although it is too early to make any assessment of Bale, on Saturday, to the disappointment of the fans to see the poor image provided by your computer, some doubt the Welshman and whether the investment is worth it."