Gareth Bale, from ‘galactic’ to relaxed golfer

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His substitution in the Champions League final in Cardiff, his hometown, opened a gap between the Welshman and Zinedine Zidane. Since then the footballer has linked injuries and has been losing relevance, while improving his golf handicap and starring in disagreements with the club and the fans.

There is a running joke about Bale through the changing room of Real Madrid which states that “in recent years his golf handicap has improved more than his & rdquor; record. And he has his point of reason. The Welshman, who is nicknamed ‘The Golfer’ by the dressing room, has lowered his handicap from 6 to 3 while barely adding one League and one Super Cup in the last three seasons.

Bale is still mired in the most absolute inconsequentiality, going from being ‘the pretty boy’ of Florentine to hear from the president: “With Zidane another year awaits you in the stands. So accept the assignment to Tottenham because it’s the best for everyone & rdquor ;. The problem with Zizou it has a definite turning point.

Cardiff, a turning point

Half a mile separates the 15th Castle Street of the busy Westgate Street, in the heart of Cardiff. It is the distance between the ‘Eleven’s Bar & Grill‘, which Gareth Bale opened in May 2017, and the Millenium, stadium in which he lifted the European Cup with Real Madrid just two weeks later, on June 3. Happy moments in the Welshman’s career, which actually mark the beginning of the forward’s decline in football for the Whites. Gareth barely played ten minutes in that final, in which Zinedine Zidane He had the detail of taking him out to the field, in his hometown, in the 82nd minute for Isco. The whites won 4-1 at Juventus, but Bale did not have any prominence.

That same summer, while thousands of customers in Cardiff they watered the Eleven’s Burger, a recommended hamburger accompanied by bacon, avocado, Swiss cheese, tomato jam and chimichurri, with the ‘Bale Ale ‘, the beer to which the footballer gives his name, Real Madrid was probing for the first time the possibility of transferring him. Gareth had arrived in 2013 at Real Madrid adding goals and actively collaborating in the achievement of 12 titles.

“Vende a Bale”

His relationship with Zidane had cooled down and the Frenchman made his position clear to Florentine: “Sell Bale and keep Cristiano& rdquor ;. Pérez ignored him to the point of dedicating one of the most unfortunate phrases of his mandate to Cristiano: “What you have to do is help Bale win the next Golden Ball. That ended up ruining the stormy relationship between the president and the Portuguese, who took the message as an affront and won two more trophies for best player, for none of the Welshman.

Zidane, annoyed with Florentino because he openly bet on Bale to the detriment of Cristiano, left the Madrid bench on May 31, 2018. By then the relationship between Zidane and Bale was cold. So the return of Zizou in March 2019 it was the worst news for the Welshman. Bale, who was already linking injuries and was a footballer without prominence, still did not speak Spanish and was more committed to Wales than to Real Madrid.

That season, 2019, Gareth got into the habit of abandoning the Bernabeu before the end of the matches. It was limited to complying with the internal code of the club, which specifies that footballers “must go to the dressing room before the start of the match and remain in the club. Santiago Bernabeu, at least, until 10 minutes until the clash ends & rdquor ;. And that’s what Bale did before him Leganés, Betis, Galatasaray, Espanyol… He was more aware of getting ready for the commitments of his team and escaping to his mansion in Wales, in the Vale of Glamorgan, where he had three emblematic holes of world golf replicated: _the 17th of Sawgrass, the Royal Troon Postage Stamp and the 12th of Augusta.

Golf and sports

In Madrid he has lived rented in Kaká’s house, in whose garage he parked some of the luxurious sports cars that he collects as a Lamborghini Huracán, a Mercedes-AMG SLS or a Ferrari GTC4Lusso. Or escape to a luxurious Marbella resort with a private beach and an exclusive 18-hole golf course for clients. A sweet life that he has never been willing to sacrifice, as his agent made clear, Jonathan Barnett, in one of his last encounters with JI said Angel Sánchez, Blanco CEO: “Gareth has two more years of contract with Real Madrid and he will fulfill them & rdquor ;. The same Barnett who denounced “a disgusting treatment of the Madrid fans with Bale & rdquor ;.

The return of Ancelotti was a joy for the Welshman, with whom he maintains a good relationship. Bale started the season scoring goals, something he had not done for 600 days. But a hamstring injury left him unemployed for two months. Gareth has worked hard to recover for World Cup qualification with Gales, to whom he has come with the discharge of Madrid, but without having played a minute in two months. He was advised not to play, but he did and has returned, again, muscularly injured. Confirming what all the Real Madrid dressing room knew, Ancelotti I suspected and Florentine has refused to see for years: Welsh. Golf. Madrid.

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Reference-www.elperiodico.com

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