Bale ‘loves football again’ after leaving Real Madrid

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 17 May 2021 22:18 BST
• 2 min read

Wales interim manager Robert Page says that Gareth Bale has fallen back in love with football after leaving Real Madrid this summer.

Bale returned to Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan after seven trophy-laden seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Despite playing a pivotal role in four Champions League successes, winning two La Liga titles and scoring over 100 goals, Bale’s last two seasons in the Spanish capital were largely miserable.

He endured a difficult relationship with manager Zinedine Zidane and the Spanish media and was also painted as being an outsider in the Madrid changing room.

But Page, who is filling in for Wales manager Ryan Giggs following the former winger’s arrest, says that Bale has been reborn thanks to his return to Tottenham.

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“He’s a different person today,” said Page. “He seems to love his football again. He’s at a club where the coach wants him and Gareth is enjoying the training sessions and the minutes he’s getting.

“Tottenham are preparing him sensibly so that he can play 90 minutes with the intensity that they want. This is how we’ve done it [during this training camp] and you can already see flashes [from him] in training that are something else.

“He’s enjoying football again and we hope that will be translated onto the field.”

Bale has scored one goal in six appearances this season for Spurs but is expected to be used more regularly as he regains his full match fitness.