Gareth Bale backed by Carlo Ancelotti after reports Real Madrid duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are 'furious' with him

Carlo Ancelotti has publicly backed Gareth Bale following criticism of the Welshman from fans, and according to some reports, from players inside the club including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Bale has been accused of being too greedy in the Spanish media and two defeats on the spin for Los Blancos have provided ammunition for the critics.

Ancelotti's side were able to relax over Christmas having won the Club World Cup to extend their Spanish record winning streak to 22 matches but their lacklustre displays since have alarmed fans of the club and scapegoats are being sought.

They were out-fought against Valencia and lacked the intensity and cutting edge as they then lost to Atletico Madrid.

After both defeats, Ancelotti had to defend the player who was signed for a a world record fee of £85.3m from Tottenham in August 2013 and helped the club win the Champions League and King's Cup in his first season.

"I am happy with the way that Bale is playing and he was not at fault for the defeat," Ancelotti told reporters after the Atletico match.

"The problems were caused by the opposition and generally we didn't have many chances. He scored a goal that was ruled offside but apart from that he was always trying and it was a difficult game for all the players."

Real president Florentino Perez has also publicly backed Bale, who says he is happy in Madrid, but reports of interest from Manchester United are circulating and other big clubs will be monitoring the situation.

Suggestions that Benzema and Ronaldo were unhappy with Bale rose after the La Liga defeat to Valencia.

With the score at 1-1, Bale had a fantastic opportunity to put Real Madrid back in front having just seen Atonio Barragan equalise Ronaldo's opener from the penalty spot. But with the Wales international bearing down on goal, he opted to continue alone rather than make a simple pass across goal for the unmarked Benzema. A brilliant tackle from Nicolas Otamendi meant the chance went begging and to compound Bale's selfish decision making, minutes later Otamendi went down the other end and put Valencia in front.

Benzema and Ronaldo were pictured during the match showing their frustration and Spanish newspaper Marca report that they are yet to forgive Bale.

"The Real Madrid dressing room have not yet forgiven Gareth Bale for his monumental miss at Mestalla and are still angry with the Welshman," wrote J. I. Garcia-Ochoa.

He added: "The Real Madrid players are not angry with Bale for not scoring, but for the decision he made. However, Ronaldo also missed an absolute sitter for Real Madrid and nobody said anything to him."

Video footage of the incident and aftermath shows the anger among Bale's team-mates...

Being greedy was a criticism labelled at Arjen Robben not too long ago and he was sold to Bayern Munich in 2009.