LONDON – Gareth Bale’s treatment by Real Madrid fans was “disgraceful” and the Spanish club did not help the situation, according to the Wales attacker’s agent.
The 31-year-old has returned to Tottenham on a loan deal, leaving them in 2013 for a, then world-record fee, of £85 million (RM448 million).
The winger, whose contract with Madrid runs until 2022, won four Champions League crowns and two La Liga titles in Spain.
He is also the all-time top-scoring British player in La Liga, with 80 goals in 171 league appearances.
But he fell out badly with Coach Zinedine Zidane, and on a number of occasions was subjected to booing from sections of the Madrid support.
His agent, Jonathan Barnett, said Bale has not been treated with the respect he deserved.
“In my opinion, he wasn’t treated correctly for somebody who’s done so much for a great club,” Barnett told the BBC.
“I think that things were wrong. It’s hard to put one finger on it but I think somebody who has achieved what he has achieved for a club, in seven years, should have been treated better.”
“I don’t want to blame anybody or go into it. I think what the fans did was disgraceful and the club didn’t help. That’s all I really want to get into.”
Barnett hopes the move will restore Bale’s love of football once he is fit for action, expected to be next month.
Bale has agreed to a season-long loan at Spurs but Barnett said he hopes the forward could stay longer.
“Hopefully the subject (of returning to Real) won’t come up,” he said. “He will be so successful at Tottenham he’ll want to stay and it will be a simple deal to do the rest.” – AFP, September 23, 2020
