Gareth Bale insists he has “no regrets” from his seven-year stay at Real Madrid after joining Tottenham on a season-long loan deal.
The 31-year-old helped Madrid to four Champions League crowns and two La Liga titles during his spell at the club, before returning to Spurs in a loan arrangement.
However, despite the on-field success his relationship with Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane grew increasingly fractured in recent times and he had been a peripheral figure in the Spanish capital for much of the past two seasons.
“No I don’t have any regrets, no,” Bale told Sky Sports. “I just try and play football, that’s all I can do and everything else that’s said externally is out of my control.
“As I said, I have no regrets of what I’ve done, whatever anyone else has said, that’s up to them. I know my opinion of myself and my family know exactly what I am, so that’s all I’m worried about.
“Obviously going into a different culture, a different country, I’ve had to grow up as a person, never mind a footballer.
“You just learn how to deal with the situations that you’re in. Obviously I’ve been in immense pressure situations. I’ve had people on the pitch whistling in the stadium to me.
“So yeah I’ve just learned how to deal with those type of things, to not take it to seriously, take it too much to heart, and yeah just get on with it. It’s football – something that you love doing and you just need to give your best and sometimes that’s all you can do.”
Bale played just 1,261 minutes last campaign – the lowest of his stint in the Spanish capital – and has missed 13 games through injury while he was overlooked by boss Zidane on a further 17 occasions.
It was claimed earlier this summer that Bale’s relationship with Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane was broken and the situation for him in Madrid had been untenable.
Reports have claimed that the North London club will pay a total of €22m to sign the Welshman for a season – money that will cover the wages and bonuses of the 31-year-old, according to Sky Sports, via El Mundo Deportivo.
Bale travelled to London last week to complete his move to Spurs – whom he left starred for before leaving for Madrid in the summer of 2013.
