Gareth Bale has revealed that a back spasm meant he was unable to celebrate his final La Liga title with Real Madrid.
The Welshman moved to the Bernabeu in a blockbuster deal in 2013 and has since won a string of major honours, including four Champions Leagues and now three domestic league titles. However, his input on that third and final triumph has been severely limited, having played just five times all season - scoring one goal.
Bale will become a free agent at the end of the season and it has already been confirmed he will be moving on at the expiration of his current contract. "Bale deserves a grand farewell from the club. And no, we have not yet decided on the future," his agent Jonathan Barnett said.
"He speaks Spanish. What happens is that people who do not know him say that he does not. Stupid and ignorant people who have not spoken to him. It's a shame.
“He has always been very happy in Madrid, he arrived as a young man, his children were born in the city, he has donated a lot of money to Spanish hospitals for Covid (a reported £400k) and he loves the city and the club and I think the parasites are the ones who speak ill of him."
The 32-year-old did little for player-supporter relationships in 2019, when celebrating Wales’ qualification to Euro 2020 with a flag which read
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Bale did make his long-awaited return to the Bernabeu earlier this month, playing at Madrid’s home stadium for the first time in 654 days when they took on Getafe. Coming on as a late sub for Karim Benzema, Bale was audibly booed, a response which manager Carlo Ancelotti said was “understandable”.
“I think that our fans are very important. They were against PSG [In the round of 16] and now we have them, that push, on Tuesday," Ancelotti said at the time. “The whistle on Bale is understandable but he is doing well now. He is a serious professional.
“It would be deserved and right for him to bid farewell to the Bernabeu,” the Italian boss added. "He expects confidence in him from us. He wants to finish his career at Real Madrid on a high note. We will see how it goes.
"He has already made history at Real Madrid with his games, his goals and his triumphs. He's a very respected player, and we want the best for him."
However, the winger was a notable absentee from the celebrations on the pitch, with reports in Spain claiming he had intentionally opted to stay away from his team-mates. However, Bale has now taken to social media to explain why he wasn't in attendance as he continues to recover from a back injury.
He posted a picture of the title celebrations, with the message: "So disappointed that I’m not able to be part of the celebrations this evening due to a bad back spasm but really proud of the team for winning the title! Enjoy tonight boys!
