One potential match-winner will be missing from the pitch when Real Madrid face Liverpool in the final.
The two-goal hero when the teams met in the final has become a forgotten man, making only seven Real appearances all season and starting just one game in club colours since August.
Bale has only played 22 minutes for the team since February and is unlikely to feature in the final.
His nine-year spell in Spain is coming to an end next month, and it is likely that he will leave as a great relief to everyone.
For a player who has scored 106 goals and won 15 trophies in Spain to become arguably British football's greatest ever export, it is a terribly sad way to finish.
When Bale was signed by Real for 100m euros, he immediately became a key component of a breathtakingly exciting forward line.
Bale was quickly embraced by Real fans, especially when he concluded his first season by winning the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona with a stupendous solo goal, and then netted in the European crown to help seal Real's tenth European crown.
The first signs of trouble came soon. Real suffered a bad run of form early in the year, including a 4-3 defeat by Schalke and a 4-0 loss to Atleti.
Some sections of the media made Bale the scapegoat for the poor results, lambasting him with criticism that seemed excessive and fostering a theory that their attacks on Bale were an indirect way of getting at Real president Florentino Perez.
Bale appeared to be stung by the criticism, but since arriving in Spain he rarely connected with Real fans or the media, only conducting one heavily staged interview in Spanish and living a sheltered life.
His perception was further damaged by a series of injuries which often cleared up just in time for him to go on international duty with Wales, provoking accusations that Bale's club career had moved below playing for his country on his list of priorities.
The relationship between Bale, the tabloid Spanish media, a section of Real fans and even the club itself was created by those factors. With Bale quietly retreating into his small inner circle rather than trying to rescue his reputation, that situation of distrust was never escaped.
The loathing between Bale and the Spanish media reached its lowest point in March, when Bale was described as a "parasite" by a sports newspaper after he missed the home loss to Barcelona due to injury.
He bit back by describing the attack as "slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism" and concluded by saying "We all know who the real parasites are!"
Bale wasn't solely responsible for inciting the negative spiral. Despite his troubles, he has never been accused of dressing-room dissent, which shows that he was neither a troublemaker nor a peacemaker. He will be remembered by Real fans with respect for the player he initially was, but also with disdain for the person he became.
The ending to Bale's time at Real Madrid reflects badly on the club, the media, and the fans, as well as the club, which could have supported him better.
Bale was portrayed in Spain as the ultimate example of a modern mercenary footballer, disconnected from his community and only interested in picking up a bloated salary.
The phrase "salir por la puerta grande" means "to go out through the main entrance" in Spanish. The contract of Brazilian left-back Marcelo with Real ends on Friday and he received a rousing reception from his team during their final game of the season.
Bale, in contrast, was not even seen inside the stadium for that game and was recently described by Madrid-based sports newspaper AS as sneaking out of the club through the cat flap.
It is a sad way for such a wonderful player to leave a club where he achieved so much, even though you see the rights and wrongs of the breakdown in relationships.
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