Bale, Ronaldo cast doubt over Madrid future
Madrid confirmed as European aristocrats . . .
GARETH BALE came on as substitute to score one of the greatest goals in Champion League history to win his fourth title with Real Madrid and then issued an ultimatum that he must start games, saying he is considering returning to the Premier League after five years in Spain.
The Welshman was only named on the bench by Zinedine Zidane but came on with an hour played to immediate effect, scoring an overhead kick for his first within two minutes to give his side a lead that they never relinquished. He later made it 3-1 with a speculative 40 yard shot that the Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius parried into his own net, the German’s second major error of the night.
In a dramatic finale to the night, Cristiano Ronaldo also cast doubt on his own future at Real Madrid, saying he would give supporters “an answer” in the weeks to come.
He said: “I’ll speak in the next few days. Now it’s time to enjoy the moment.” He also said the Champions League should be named “the CR7 Champions League” in his honour after he won his fifth title and finished as the competition’s top scorer.
Bale was uncharacteristically frank about his own future, saying he was unhappy not to have started the game and felt he “needed to be playing every week”.
“That’s something I feel I should be doing. I have plenty of time to relax and see where things go.”
He added: “I will sit down with my agent and discuss it. I need to be playing every week and if that’s not the case here it is something I will really have to consider. The game has literally just finished. I have a long summer to relax. Maybe I will be staying here and maybe not.”
Speaking to BT Sport, Bale said he had been fit since recovering from an injury that he suffered five weeks into the season. — The Guardian