Bale on his career: “I never needed validation” | OneFootball

Multi-champion with Real Madrid, Gareth Bale reflected on his career. The former forward also had standout spells at Tottenham, in English football, and Los Angeles FC in the United States.

The Welshman won 17 titles as a player, including five times the Champions League with Real Madrid. He scored three goals in finals of the Champions League, but his best ranking in the Ballon d'Or was a sixth place, in 2016.

Asked about individual awards, Bale emphasized that he never placed much value on them.

“Ballon d'Or? It's a matter of image, no doubt that the press has its favorites, it's not just about football. I wish it was, but it's not. I don't think anyone will deny that,” he said in an interview with GQ Magazine.

“I knew I was playing as one of the best in the world, but I didn't need other people to validate me,” he added.

Difficult days

Regarding his time with the Merengue team, Gareth Bale also mentioned moments of pressure. The player was heavily criticized for playing golf in his free time.

“Obviously, many players go to Real Madrid to become galácticos, but I went there to play football. On the other hand... I was probably guilty of not defending myself and was a bit naive at certain moments,” the athlete commented.

The former player also stated that he has no relationship with former teammates from club and national team and detailed his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo.

“We never had any problems, we never argued, we never had any disagreements. Nothing ever happened,” he reported.

The player ended his career young, at 33 years old, and is still the top scorer for the Welsh national team, with 40 goals in 111 matches.

  See this photo on Instagram   A post shared by Gareth Bale (@garethbale11)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.