Gareth Bale is a Tottenham player once again.Spurs confirmed the season-long loan signing of the Welshman on Saturday afternoon, returning to the club he left in 2013.“I’m so happy to have this shirt on again,” Spurs’ new No.9 said.“It’s nice to be back!” he said. “This is such a special Club to me. It’s where I made my name. What an amazing Club, amazing fans, and it’s just incredible to be back. Hopefully, now I can get some match fitness, help the team and win trophies.“I always thought when I did leave that one day I would love to come back, and the opportunity has now arisen. I feel like it’s a good fit, it’s a good time for me, I’m hungry, I’m motivated, I want to do well and can’t wait to get started.”
You can’t exactly blame him for being desperate to leave Real Madrid.
Despite scoring more than 100 goals, winning two La Ligas and four Champions Leagues - scoring in two of the finals - Bale was far from a fan favourite at the Bernabeu. The Spanish media didn’t exactly like him either, while his relationship with Zinedine Zidane was rocky, to say the least.
But everything he’s given to the club since 2013, you’d at least think they’d pay tribute to the outgoing winger.
Errrrr, not quite.
That’s because their ‘Comunicado Oficial’ was pretty cold.
It read: “Real Madrid CF and Tottenham Hotspur FC have agreed the loan of the player Gareth Bale for the next season, until June 30, 2021.
Our club wishes good luck to a player who is part of one of the most successful stages of our history.”
Is that it? Is that all he deserves?
It’s something that many fans thought was nothing short of disrespectful. Check out some of the reaction on social media:
Despite all the reports of their troubled relationship - and the fact he rarely played him - Zidane claimed he actually had no problem with Bale.
"It's not like that,” Zidane said when asked if Bale was leaving because of him. "It's more complicated. With Bale, it's always about one side against the other. But I've never had a problem with Gareth.
"There will always be things that happen. Now he's making a change, all we can do is wish him the best... These things happen in football, but I've always said he was a spectacular player."