Bale: If not for Real Madrid, it would have been difficult to ever leave Spurs In an exclusive interview with The Telegraph, Gareth Bale admits that it would have been ‘difficult for him to ever leave’ his former club Tottenham Hotspur, had the interest from Real Madrid not arrived last summer. “If it wasn’t Real Madrid, it would have been very, very difficult to ever leave. I hope the fans have forgiven me now. It was incredible to see all the messages of support from Tottenham fans after the Champions League final. So many people said how proud they were of me, and that felt amazing. I loved my time at Tottenham and the fans were always incredible to me. I think they understood that the opportunity to join Real Madrid was a once-in-a lifetime chance and at the time I was playing well and I wanted to test myself. Without Real Madrid, I would have loved to still be there playing for Spurs. But winning the Champions League shows exactly why I wanted to make the move. “[on his Champions League goal] I wish I could remember more about the goal. I watch it back now and I just think how much my knee must have been killing me because I slid so far celebrating.” As far as life in Madrid goes, the 25-year-old admits he is now ‘enjoying everything’ in the Spanish capital, especially now that he’s getting to grips with the language, after a more uncertain start following his move from England. “I really am enjoying everything out here. The team’s doing brilliantly, and off the pitch it’s a lot more relaxed. It’s much warmer, which I love. Pre-season training in the summer is insane as it’s so hot. You sweat just standing there, so you have to hydrate with Lucozade Sport so much more. That’s so important in modern football and for any athlete. I’m just a lot more comfortable with myself in the surroundings now. “It was hard to start with, definitely. It’s always difficult to settle into a new team and a new country, but I felt as soon as I got into my house and got settled off the pitch everything would get a lot easier. “It was brilliant when we got our personal chef. It’s like going out for a meal every night. He makes sure I eat all the right stuff – the vegetables, the fruits, the right types of meat, and prepares it in the right way. “[on learning the language] I’m taking classes every week and I understand so much more now. I certainly understand the team talk. As long as the manager doesn’t speak too quickly. It’s not great (though). I left school for a reason, and I’ve been dragged back! Not really, of course. Learning a language is something anyone would love to do and I’ve got a great excuse to do it.” Despite making the multi-million pound move to Real Madrid last summer, Bale assures he is still the same person as he always was, and still misses some of the home comforts that he knew so well back in the United Kingdom. “I don’t think I’ve changed since I was a little kid. I still mess around and joke with my family and friends like I did when I was nine or 10. For me, nothing’s changed. Sure, I play football, but I try to keep my life off the pitch as simple as possible. My friends and family keep me grounded. “Some good old British chocolate never goes amiss. A bit of Dairy Milk or Galaxy is fantastic. They have Milka here and it’s not the same. Oh, and Nando’s! I do miss a bit of Nando’s. It’s funny; it’s those tiny things you miss. We’ll bring English teabags over with us, and the chocolate. I can’t really move Nando’s over, though, unfortunately. “[on the English Premier League] It’s very interesting watching as an outsider. You find you’re more into it when you’re not playing in the league. You’re only concentrating on your team then. Do I still hold loyalties? Of course. I still want Arsenal to lose and Spurs to win.” Bale then talked about learning from Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid (or ‘the best player in the world’ according to the Welshman), who he believes is helping him to ‘become a better player’. “Learning off the best player in the world is just incredible. He’s been amazing since I’ve been there and I learn something new every day. He’s helping me become a better player, which is my constant goal. I’m trying to get up to his level. In fact, I’ve been trying to improve my right foot, but I’m not doing that any more. Why not? Because every time I try, I pull one of my glutes! So that’s out of the window… (but seriously) I can improve everything, and working on my weaker foot is the main thing.” Although he earlier acknowledged that leaving Tottenham for Madrid was difficult, Bale insists that joining the London club as a youngster was even more difficult, and credits a couple of his managers for making him the player he is today. “I talk about moving to Madrid as hard, but joining Spurs was the hardest. I’d gone from being a 16-year-old at Southampton to moving to Tottenham and playing with the likes of [Dimitar] Berbatov and Robbie [Keane] at a completely different level. And I literally didn’t know anybody at Spurs. At least I knew Luka [Modrić, Madrid’s former Tottenham midfielder] here. So then you pick up an injury and it’s hard. Medical people that examined my foot said I might not get back to the level I was at. It dented my confidence and made me go into my shell. But I worked harder and harder in training and tried to get my confidence back up. It takes time. But I got there and the rest is history, as they say. “Harry Redknapp gave me a real kick up the arse when he arrived. He was the one who started the ball rolling. If I didn’t get that kick I wouldn’t be where I am now. It happens with young players, but I needed that kick. “I said at the beginning of that 2012/2013 season that I felt I could go up a level and was frustrated by being double-marked every game on the left-wing. André Villas- Boas had just joined and we had this big chat. We decided to give me that free role where I was able to wander and find space. That was it, then. As soon as we did it, I started playing better and scoring more goals, the team began winning more games and it had a snowball effect. My confidence was sky-high. “The confidence he showed in me was unbelievable. He instilled me with a belief that I can go on to the pitch and control a game. If we were struggling, I suddenly believed that I could go and take over. I’ll always be very grateful to him.” Finally, Bale spoke about how much he is enjoying playing for Wales at present, and especially now that he’s a ‘senior figure’ in the team – something that hasn’t always been the case. “I think it would be the joint biggest achievement in my career so far, on a par with the Champions League. We’d make history in Wales and it would mean so much to the country. “I love playing for Wales. It’s not a responsibility or a burden. And I like being a senior figure in the team now. I always remember joining up with the squad and playing this game called “toro”, where you have seven or eight on the outside and the two youngest in the middle and I was always in the middle! Now, I’m never in the middle. I know I’m old! ‘We have such a good team and we know we can achieve something. Before it was more, “maybe we can do something”, whereas now we know we can. We’ve got a young team, and I’m trying to help them through my experiences. I need to be a leader on the pitch now. I might not be the most vocal, but hopefully I can lead by example by running around and working hard.” Bale: Cristiano is helping me be a better player
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 16:23:25 +0000
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