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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) – A unique talent who scored incredible goals in the most critical moments, or a distant loner who cared more about golf than the sport that he was paid millions to play for?
Real Madrid seemed to have both in Gareth Bale.
Bale ended his seven seasons at Madrid on Saturday when he returned on a one-season loan to Tottenham, the club he left in 2013 to come to Spain.
When he arrived in Madrid for the then-record € 100 million (then $ 132 million), Bale was known to his new fans as the tall Welshman who could win matches single-handedly with his graceful long stride and spectacular goals.
But during the long period he spent in the Spanish capital, one of the few things about Bale that Madrid supporters discovered was that he loved to play a round of golf whenever he could sneak onto the course.
When he gave the occasional brief interview after a match, Bale always spoke, very politely, in English, never in Spanish, even after seven years in Spain.
Bale was affected by his repeated problems with injuries at Madrid, where he had stiff competition with other stars.
The Madrid fans, however, got tired of Bale for not performing at his best in many games. Many found the weekly game routine not as interesting to him as the high-profile finals.
But that apparent reluctance to play hard, stay fit and blend in was overlooked by many Madrid fans as long as it wowed them on the field.
Bale’s image of the indifferent outsider reflected his best goals. They were produced by moments of individual brilliance from Bale, not by working towards the opposing network with teammates.
His first memorable goal for the club came in the 2014 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in Bale’s debut season with manager Carlo Ancelotti, which turned out to be his best.
With Cristiano Ronaldo out with injury, Bale clinched the title in the final minutes as he dribbled down the sideline at a full gallop, dodging Marc Bartra’s shoulder entry and slipping the ball under goalkeeper José Pinto for the 2-win. -one.
A month later came Bale’s overtime header in the 2014 Champions League final in a 4-1 win over Atlético de Madrid. That was the first of his four European Cups.
Bale saved his best effort for the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool, when he entered as a substitute in the second half with the score 1-1 and three minutes later he lit up the Kiev stadium by scoring with a spectacular bicycle kick.
He added another with a second long-range shot that goalkeeper Loris Karius dropped into his hands.
But at that time he was no longer an indispensable player for coach Zinedine Zidane.
Minutes after scoring what he said was the best goal of his career, Bale complained on television that he was disappointed that he had not started against Liverpool and that he wanted to play every week, leaving his future at the club in doubt. .
A year later, Zidane even said that Madrid was close to transferring Bale and added: “Let’s hope, for the good of all, that it happens soon.”
That move didn’t materialize and things turned even more sour between Bale and his club.
The lowest point was reached in November 2019 when Bale publicly mocked his club by celebrating Wales’s qualification for the 2020 European Championship behind a banner reading ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.”
That didn’t seem to impress Zidane. Bale made just 20 appearances last season, compared to 42 the previous season.
Madrid won the Spanish league title in July, but Bale did not play in the last eight games of the season, not even a Champions League visit to Manchester City that Madrid lost.
Zidane, however, said Saturday that he had no hard feelings for Bale.
“I’ve never had a problem with Bale and it has never been a headache,” Zidane said. “He has done excellently in terms of what he has accomplished here and there should be no discussion of that. He has won many titles at Real Madrid ”.
Bale’s final image in Spain may be of him in the stands during Madrid’s game against Alavés in July, as his team marched towards the title without his help. Bale, banished back to reservations, leaned back, put his feet on the top of the front seat, and covered his face with his eyes as if to take a nap.
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