Gareth Bale lives a relaxed life, far from football, from which he retired despite being only 32 (he is now 33), but with a long history of injuries. “Now I have time to be with my family, go on vacation, I’m not constantly traveling. I can also play more golf…”, explained the Welshman in a recent interview for BT Sport with former footballers Jermaine Jenas and Peter Crouch. A Bale who conquered most of his award-winning record as a Real Madrid player and who, despite the fact that his stage had lights and shadows, he remembers with pride.
“When you enter the Real Madrid dressing room you simply feel like a winner. Obviously it influences that you are surrounded by great players, but it is difficult to explain. Winning is the mentality of that club, ”he says. In fact, it exemplifies it. “I remember talking to Liverpool players before the first Champions League final in which we met. They had trouble sleeping, they were nervous… We had another mentality. We only hoped to win and even more so in a final, despite the fact that they arrived playing better than us…”, said Bale who, of those games, highlighted the leadership capacity and the speeches of Sergio Ramos.
But he also acknowledges that in Madrid there was “more pressure, due to the expectations of the club, the fans, the media…”. And after seven seasons at the white club, he went to the North American MLS, a radical change. “He was much calmer. In Madrid, if you lost, it was as if the world ended, they crucify you, you go home depressed… In MLS it’s more relaxed, there are no relegations either, and simply, if you lose a game, you move on to the next. Defeat is accepted much better ”, recalls the Welshman.
A competition, that of the USA, current due to the arrival of Messi at Inter Miami: “There are things like long journeys, humidity… but I think Messi will enjoy this stage there. And it’s great for MLS and for the USA, and with the World Cup coming up, I think soccer will grow a lot more.” A march from Europe, that of the Argentine, who joins Cristiano’s to Arabia, that of Benzema… Law of life, according to the Welshman: “I think Mbappé is aiming for the next great superstar, also Haaland… It happens In all sports, after a transition, others arrive to take their place.