Bale: I might never return to England...
Gareth seals Madrid mega-deal
GARETH BALE has admitted he could see himself finishing his career at Real Madrid without ever playing again in the Premier League.
The 27-year- old yesterday signed his new six- year contract — worth a staggering £108million after tax — and said he had every intention of seeing it out.
Asked if he might never return to an English club, the former Tottenham star said: ‘Yes, for sure. The reason I signed is that I’m very happy here. I feel very comfortable, my Spanish is improving, my family is more settled and I fully intend to see out my contract here.’
Sportsmail understands that while Manchester United made no concrete bid in the summer transfer window, the Bale camp were made aware that if the player wanted to leave Spain he would find a willing buyer at old Trafford.
But Bale confirmed that any attempt to lure him to United was always destined to end in failure. ‘It’s Real Madrid, it’s the biggest club in the world,’ he said. ‘I grew up watching English football but also watching Real Madrid. When an opportunity came up for me to play here it was not one that I was going to turn down.
‘I came here to learn a different type of football and to progress as a player. And looking back I feel that I definitely made the right decision. History shows that it is not easy for British players to play in Europe but it is something I wanted to do.
‘It’s been a difficult journey. There have been good times and some difficult times too but the most important thing is that I feel loved here by the fans and I want to give everything for them and for the shirt and win more trophies.’ He admitted that there had been a dip in his second season but with European Cups in his first and third campaign the net balance is overwhelmingly positive.
‘You are going to get good press and bad press here and it’s best not to take too much notice of it. You have to just keep working hard.’
Asked if he saw himself as a future Madrid captain he added: ‘I’m not one for leading vocally but I do try to lead by example on the pitch.’
Bale had began his press conference in Spanish with a ‘good afternoon’ to the assembled local media. He then told them, still in Spanish, that he would prefer to continue in English.
Pressed on the intricacies of his contract and the discrepancy between what Real Madrid say the player is being paid and what Bale’s camp have briefed, he said: ‘That’s
for me to know and no one else to find out.’
Sportsmail understands Real Madrid’s reluctance to admit to the full scale of Bale’s new £346,000-per-week mega-deal (£18m a year after tax) is to avoid upsetting other players — notably Cristiano Ronaldo and captain Sergio Ramos.
Ronaldo’s new deal will be announced this month and he remains the top earner on £19m a year, although Bale’s deal does see him take control of 90 per cent of his image rights while the Portuguese shares his 50-50 with the club.
Bale sat next to club director Emilio Butragueno, who turned to him and said: ‘The challenges here are constant and it’s a great satisfaction to say that you are going to be here until at least 2022.’
‘Gracias,’ was Bale’s response. He then sat through a showreel of his best goals. The Spanish Cup-winning goal from the halfway line in his first season and the key goal in the 2014 Champions League final were the pick of a film which the club presented to him after he had confirmed allegiance for the prime years of his career.