Gareth Bale miss cost Real Madrid in El Clasico defeat says club director Emilio Butragueno

Gareth Bale's performances in his second season at Real Madrid since his world record move from Tottenham Hotspur continue to come under fire after club director Emilio Butragueno blamed the Welshman for the 2-1 El Classico defeat to Barcelona.

Luis Suarez's second-half winner saw Barca go four points clear of the La Liga champions with 10 matches remaining, after Cristiano Ronaldo cancelled out Mathieu's early goal.

Bale, who signed from Tottenham for a world-record fee of £85m ($127m), had the chance to put Real into the lead before half-time but following a goalmouth scramble he shot wide.

The 25-year-old followed the missed chance with an anonymous second-half showing that summed up his performance and saw him end the game with the fewest amount of touches of any outfield player who played the full 90 minutes.

"In big games like this, everyone has their moments, but we didn't take ours. We missed some clear chances," Butragueno said. "We had some very clear chances, particularly Bale's following a corner. We lacked that little bit of luck to get the second.

"If we had scored, I think we'd have given much more. We're saddened by the result because in the first half we dominated them, created chances and played really well."

The criticism from Butragueno, a legendary figure at the Bernabeu, is the latest in a string of complaints made of Bale in his second season in the Spanish capital that represents the first period of uncertainty since his move from Tottenham in 2013.

Real have been forced to suspend a club member after three men were seen insulting the players, including Bale, and attacking their cars as they left the club training ground on 22 March after returning to Madrid following the game.

Supporters have called for Bale to be removed from the Real first team amid his struggles during his second campaign in Spanish football, with 68.3% wanting manager Carlo Ancelotti to drop the the ex-Tottenham man according to a survey on AS.com.