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(Reuters) – Gareth Bale said he has no regrets about leaving Real Madrid to seal his return to Tottenham Hotspur and that his tumultuous but charged seven-year stint with the Spanish champions helped him grow.
Bale left the north London club in 2013 for a world record of 100 million euros (91.5 million pounds) and won four Champions League titles and two La Liga crowns with Real, scoring more than 100. goals.
However, he divided opinion in Spain due to a perceived lack of commitment and a poor injury history and after a fight with Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane, the Welsh forward found himself sidelined and returned to Spurs on a loan of a season.
“I don’t regret anything,” Bale, 31, told Sky Sports. “I just try to play, that’s all I can do and everything else that is said externally is out of my control.
“Whatever someone else said, that’s up to them. I know my opinion of myself and my family I know exactly what I am, so that’s all that concerns me.”
“By entering a different culture, in a different country, I had to grow as a person, it doesn’t matter as a footballer.”
During Bale’s time in Madrid, Spurs twice came close to winning the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, but the silverware eluded the club and Bale hopes his return can propel them to new heights.
“In the time that I left, they continued and reached the final of the Champions League, the club has a new stadium, the club itself is better,” he said.
“I just want to add something to that. I want to try to bring a little more to the team and try to progress even more, keep pushing in the right direction.”
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; edited by Toby Davis)
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