Bale has no regrets over his seven years at Real Madrid

Gareth Bale says he has no regrets over his time at Real Madrid and even claimed the jeers from the club’s fans made him stronger.

Gareth Bale is back in the Premier League after securing a season-long loan with his former side Tottenham.

Despite how sour things turned at Real Madrid, the Welshman has no regrets moving to Spain.

In his time with Los Blancos, Bale won a total of 13 trophies while recording 105 goals and 68 assists in 251 appearances for the club.

Towards the end of his stint at the Bernabeu, things turned sour for the 31-year-old.

Amid questions of his form, fitness, and attitude, Bale quickly became a scapegoat for those looking to point fingers during periods of struggle for Real. He was even booed on several occasions by the club’s fans.

Despite all of that, the Welshman says he benefited from his time with Real Madrid and has no negative thoughts about it.

Bale told Sky Sports: “No I don’t have any regrets, no.

“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.

Rather than allow all the boos and criticism to affect his game, Bale says he kept his calm and didn’t think too much about it.

“So yeah, I’ve just learned how to deal with those type of things, to not take it too 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 joined Tottenham while he was injured and is expected to be fit and ready for action sometime in October