Poyet Defends Bale Over Real Madrid Criticisms

Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspurs midfielder Gustavo Poyet has slammed the critics of Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale.

Poyet Defends Bale Over Real Madrid Criticisms

 

The Welshman has been widely criticized by fans in Spain despite being part of the Real Madrid team that won four Champions Leagues in five years, including the historic three-consecutive European titles.

The former Tottenham star man was on the fringes last season after head coach Zinedine Zidane returned in March.

However, after a failed summer move to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning and the anterior cruciate ligament injury of Marco Asensio, the Frenchman appears to have had a change of heart and Bale is now back in contention.

The future of Bale in Spain is still uncertain despite everything he has done for Real Madrid since his then-world-record move from North London.

According to Poyet, he does not understand why Bale has always been under-fire after what he has done for the Los Blancos.

“We talk about Bale. Some say he plays golf all the time. I say he scored in the Champions League final or the Copa del Rey final,” Poyet told Goal.

“What I mean is, some see him negatively and I see what he did for Madrid.”

“It is the same Bale. How can you criticise Bale after what he did for this club? Unfortunately, we live in a very critical society. I was with Gareth when I went to Madrid to see them train. He seems happy in Madrid.”

The former Uruguay player added: “I know the latest news was that he wanted to leave Madrid in the summer.

“I think that he was good enough to keep to himself when everyone, including Zidane, was saying he would leave in a matter of hours. He kept to himself.”

“He got ready, he started the season and showed everyone he is Gareth Bale.”

Bale has managed an impressive 104 goals and 67 assists in 238 appearances since he joined Real Madrid and he is under contract at the Santiago Bernabeu until June 2022