Bale Not Concerned With Criticisms

The 30-year-old almost departed Real Madrid over the summer when French trainer Zinedine Zidane opted for his sale.

With Jiangsu Suning coming close as the possible destination for Bale, many cited the move as a setback for the former Tottenham Hotspurs playmaker.

But Bale, who is still with Real Madrid stressed he has always turned deaf ears to his critics.

"I don't listen to them (the critics) because they don't really know what they are on about," Bale explained.

"I don't read anything, I don't listen to anyone.

"I know most people don't know the situation, don't understand the situation. What they write means nothing."

"I am a professional, I am paid to play football," Bale said.

"Obviously you go through ups and downs and people like to say whatever they want. At the end of the day I know I keep working hard in training and doing the correct things."

"I had a great summer holiday," he added.

"Coming back to pre-season I just kept my head down. I know there was a lot of talk with everybody saying good, bad, whatever they wanted. I just kept my head down, kept working hard in training.

"The things that happened will stay private with the club. If you want answers, maybe you need to ask Real Madrid."

With injuries playing a part of his career in Spain, Bale, who in the last four seasons has made just 79 LaLiga starts says he is currently in fine shape to be at his best.

“I feel good. I feel probably stronger than ever at the moment," he added.

"When you get older you learn from mistakes in the past, doing a bit more prevention work in the gym and keeping yourself fitter.

"I feel in very good shape, hopefully I can stay on top of that and keep playing well."

 Bale will be the commander on the field for Wales when they host Azerbaijan in the Euro 2020 qualifier later today.