Gareth Bale has bitten back at critics that accused him on a regular basis throughout a nine-year spell at Real Madrid of playing too much golf and always being injured.
The Wales international has severed ties with the Blancos this summer, as he becomes a free agent, and walks away from Santiago Bernabeu with three La Liga titles, five Champions League crowns and 106 goals under his belt.
He will be remembered as one of British football’s finest exports to Europe, but life was not always easy for Bale in the Spanish capital as he was often accused of spending too much time on the treatment table or enjoying hobbies away from the field.
Does Bale play a lot of golf?
Bale has never hidden his love golf, with days on the course allowing him to forget about the stresses of life as an elite footballer, but he maintains that he has never been as passionate about the game as some make out and is not as injury-prone as certain media outlets would have you believe.
The 32-year-old, who is currently on Nations League duty with Wales, has told reporters of the criticism he has faced down the years: “I’ve been available for quite a lot of the games in Spain but sometimes you don’t get picked, so people assume you are injured.
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“It’s that perception that people think I play a lot of golf, when I actually don’t. People think I’m injured a lot, but I’m actually not.
“The problem is that people believe what they read and it creates that narrative or image that it’s always happening.”
Where will Bale be playing in 2022-23?
While Bale is focused on international matters at present, rumours continue to rage when it comes to his immediate future at club level.
A return to British shores has been speculated on, with a homecoming at Cardiff potentially on the cards, and a man that was once the most expensive player on the planet says any decision on his next move will be based on where he feels he can get the most football ahead of the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
Bale said when asked if he would be happy to play second tier football in 2022-23: “I don’t really know if the standard makes too much of a difference, to be honest. Football games are football games. I feel like I’ll never really lose my quality on the ball so I guess it’s a conversation to be had.
“I need to make sure I’m playing games and I’m as fit as possible. For example, coming into this camp now I wasn’t fit at all, I didn’t have much game time at all. Sometimes I’m able to get away with it, but ideally I want to be going into a World Cup playing games and being as fit as possible and being able to be as effective as I can for as long as I can.
“I know possible destinations.”
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