Ballon d'Or 2015 Predictions: Why Real Madrid's Gareth Bale May Win it All

By David Salazar Oct 31 2014, 18:13 PM EDT

Gareth Bale is the most expensive player of all time. That is a label he will have to live with and one that could potentially pressure him the wrong way.

However, if his first season with Real Madrid is any indication, Bale will be just fine with the pressure. He might even embrace it over the long haul.

The Welshman received his second straight nomination among the Ballon d'Or's 23 finalists. He was selected back in 2013 after a tremendous season for Tottenham Hotspur. He finished ninth in voting that year with 1.32 percent of the vote.

This year, he arguably has more of a case to make in his favor. But will he win it all?

High Points

There were many moments at the start of the 2013-14 season when Bale looked like an imminent bust. He was not able to play with the finesse necessary for the Spanish League and initially looked like a brute.

However, as he rounded into top form and developed chemistry with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale became a force to be reckoned with. He finished the year with over 20 goals for Los Blancos, but his high points were the highest one could ask for.

He delivered in the clutch.

Twice.

The first such occasion was in the Copa del Rey final against -- who else? -- Barcelona.

Bale had a terrific game, but for whatever reason, he was struggling to finish his chances.

And, lo and behold, he managed to put away the game winner in fashionable style. The superstar used his tremendous speed to round around defender Marc Bartra -- after the Spaniard tried to push Bale off the pitch -- and then made his toward goal behind firing into the net for the win.

That seemingly made the $100+ investment worthwhile.

But Bale was not finished. In the Champions League final, he also blew a huge opportunity to put his team ahead. It was a glaring error that could have remained in the consciousness of many if the team had wound up losing.

But that was not meant to be. Madrid tied the game through Sergio Ramos' final second header. But it was Bale who gave them the lead.

Angel Di Maria fired a shot that was stopped by Thibaut Courtois. However, the keeper left a gaping rebound that Bale connected with to score the game winner. He gave Madrid the fabled Decima.

It does not get better than that.

Low Point

It is hard to pinpoint a real low point for the Welshman thus far.

The start of the 2014-15 season has been marked by frustration for him. He has four goals and three assists in League games, but has gone entire stretches looking invisible. Opposing defenses have opted for double-teaming him repeatedly, leaving him with little space to utilize his space. Hardly a horrible thing, but it has not enabled Bale to showcase the dominant display of last season.

Why He Can Win

One word -- clutch.

Cristiano Ronaldo, the presumed favorite, has not scored a game winner in a major title match.

Lionel Messi has yet to prove himself in 2014 in a major final match.

Mario Goetze is the only one with a claim to fame for being clutch in 2014, but few would put him on the same level as Bale in terms of consistent displays.

It also does not hurt that Bale's goalscoring has been solid throughout the year and that he is also playing a huge role in leading Wales through qualification for the 2016 Euro Cup in France. Few can forget how instrumental Ronaldo's performance in the World Cup playoffs were to his winning the Ballon d'Or in 2014.

The same could happen to Bale.

Why He Will Not Win

He is not Ronaldo. Or Messi. He is scoring big goals, but he is not scoring at the rate that his teammate is this year. Ronaldo is grabbing all the headlines for his tremendous goal scoring pace.

Bale has not grabbed a headline since scoring the winner in Lisbon. Not a bad line to grab, but it shows you how little Bale's impact has been since May for his club. He has been good for his country, but that is only a small fraction of the games he played in this calendar year.