"He really was the Prince of Wales" - Real Madrid superstar makes claim about former Los Blancos star Gareth Bale
Jude Bellingham recently hailed former Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale as the Prince of Wales.
The English midfielder has had a brilliant start to life in the Spanish capital since his reported £88.5 million move from Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Bellingham praised Gareth Bale, one of the most famous British players to have played for Los Blancos, recently. He said (via Madrid Xtra):
"He really was the Prince of Wales."
Gareth Bale was signed for a then world-record €100 million fee by Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013. He played 258 matches for Los Blancos, scoring 106 goals while providing 67 assists. He was part of their famed 'BBC' trio alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
The Welshman won the UEFA Champions League five times with the Spanish giants and added three La Liga titles to his name.
"Play the game of Real Madrid off the field": Gareth Bale's advice to Jude Bellingham after Real Madrid move
Gareth Bale spoke highly of Jude Bellingham after the Englishman's red-hot start at the club. He stated that the goals were great for Bellingham to find his feet in Spain and that the midfielder was bound for greatness if he worked hard.
Bale said (via CaughtOffside):
“He has had a great start at Madrid. Obviously, he is scoring goals, which is important, especially at a club like that and to get off to a good start to life in Madrid is always important. The sky is his limit, I think if he keeps working hard and doing what he is doing then the sky is the limit for him.”
When asked to send advice to the Englishman, Bale said on A League of their Own (via Metro):
"The biggest advice [is] play the game at Madrid. If you don't play the game and do what the media want, speak to them, and basically be a puppet, you do get a lot of stick. You'll see a lot of Galacticos, they'll act like Galacticos, do what the press want, playing the game of being at Real Madrid."
He added:
"That's probably where I was a bit of a downfall. I didn't want to do it. I just wanted to play football and go home. It hindered me and that made them attack me a bit more. So my advice would be, honestly, just play the game of Real Madrid off the field. You have to speak after games, make sure you try and speak in Spanish, do those kinds of things."
Although Gareth Bale played a huge part in Real Madrid's incredible success in the previous decade, he didn't enjoy a particularly cordial relationship with the Santiago Bernabeau faithful.