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Gareth Bale reveals why he didn’t speak Spanish during Real Madrid career.
Gareth Bale has stated that he learned Spanish while at Real Madrid but refused to speak it publicly because he did not want to raise a “big fuss” in the media.
After leaving Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, the Welsh footballing hero had eight trophy-filled seasons with Los Blancos, winning three La Liga championships, four UEFA Champions Leagues, three FIFA Club World Cups at the club, and the Copa del Rey.
Bale spoke more about his £85 million transfer to the Santiago Bernabeu in an interview with the Times, confessing that he joined the team to play alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It was the reason why I joined [Benzema and Ronaldo], to play with those two and the others behind me with Modric, Xabi Alonso and then [Toni] Kroos signed. I felt it was just an incredible opportunity to go to a club where it had amazing players,” he said.
Despite the success he would later experience with Los Blancos, Bale was frequently criticized by the Spanish press for a variety of reasons, including his allegedly subpar performances, his refusal to participate in the club’s media frenzy, and his purported lack of Spanish language skills.
Bale responded by saying that he could speak the language but refrained from doing so out of concern for maintaining his right to private life in Madrid.
“You sign as a galactico and they expect you to be everywhere, do everything, and I was the opposite. I just wanted to play my football and then disappear back into the darkness,” the 33-year-old explained.
“I could speak Spanish but I wouldn’t want to because I just wanted to keep everything private and quiet and not have this big fuss around me. Maybe that’s why they attacked me because I never really give a lot. They probably just didn’t understand me as a person.”