Gareth Bale has revealed that he did learn Spanish while at Real Madrid, but refused to speak it publicly because he did not want ‘a big fuss’ from the media.
The Welsh footballing legend spent eight trophy-laden seasons with Los Blancos after making the move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, winning three La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues, three FIFA Club World Cups at the club and the Copa del Rey.
Speaking to the Times, Bale has lifted the lid on his £85m move to the Santiago Bernabeu, admitting that he joined the club in order to play with 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.
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Despite the success he’d go on to have at Los Blancos, Bale was regularly criticised by the Spanish press from everything ranging from supposedly poor performances, to his unwillingness to get caught up in the media frenzy at the club, to his supposed inability to speak Spanish.
Commenting on this, Bale revealed that he could in fact speak the language, but refused to for fear of losing his ability to lead a 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.”
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