Gareth Bale shrugs off boos of Real Madrid fans and vows to get them back on his side

Gareth Bale

The Wales captain enraged sections of the La Liga giants’ support after helping his country achieve Euro 2020 qualification during the November international break.

Following the 2-0 win over Hungary that sealed their progress, Bale was pictured celebrating with a Welsh flag that said: “Wales, golf, Madrid. In that order”.

The 30-year-old has been subjected to boos and whistles from the Real Madrid faithful since then, but told BT Sport that it no longer affects him.  

"I think the first time it happened [being booed], it was a bit of a shock. I didn't really know how to deal with it," he said.  

"But as I've got older, it's happened one or two more times and you understand how to deal with it.

"Now I just shrug it off. In a way, with respect it's the best place to get whistled if you don't perform which I understand.

"Obviously I have to just keep working hard and keep proving to the fans what I can do. Eventually the whistles do stop and you get on with your career like normal."

Bale was also asked for his thoughts on the arrival of Jose Mourinho as manager at his former club Tottenham Hotspur.

"Having Mourinho there is an amazing statement from the club, I think he's a serial winner," he said.

"Tottenham want to win trophies and I don't think there's a better partnership than Mourinho and Tottenham together to try and win some trophies."

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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.