Gareth Bale has said that he "never used to play golf that much," adding he was "hard done by" after "misinformation" informed criticism of his off-field activities while playing for Real Madrid.
Bale, who retired in 2023 shortly after the Qatar World Cup, acknowledged that he was "slaughtered" by the Spanish press for a perceived preference for lining out for his country and playing golf over playing for his club side.
During his time in Madrid, Bale won five Champions Leagues and three LaLiga titles.
"Obviously a lot of players go to Madrid to be a Galáctico but I went there to play football, so what I achieved as a Welsh player on the pitch abroad was actually incredible," Bale said in an interview with GQ that took place on a golf course.
"I was always winning big moments. The other stuff, though... I actually never used to play golf that much.
"But because people believe what they read, they created a character that I'm not. I was probably guilty of not defending myself and in some ways I was slightly naive, that is probably the correct word, about going to Madrid and not knowing the severity."
The criticism was arguably at its strongest when Wales qualified for Euro 2020. After securing their spot in 2019, the Welsh team celebrated in front of a flag which had the slogan "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" written across it. Wales fans also sung a chant using the same three words, building a perception of what Bale's priorities were.
When he was pictured celebrating in front of the flag alongside teammates, critics in Spain were incensed. "That slogan is the one thing I felt hard done by," Bale said.
"For one thing, no one knew how much golf I actually played. If I ask you now how much golf you reckon I played, you'd probably say three or four times a week maybe, something along those lines?
"I played once every two to three weeks, but only on a day off. I'd never play a game for eight hours, I was always very professional about it. But people don't know that so they make up that slogan.
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"We'd just qualified for the Euros so I'm obviously celebrating, the whole team's there, then someone puts the flag in front of me. What am I supposed to do?
"I'm like, 'I can't throw my own country's flag on the floor because that is the worst thing I could do.' I actually didn't physically ever touch the flag, which for me was important because I was like, 'it's not me doing this -- I'm just celebrating with my friends.' Then what happened happened.
"I got absolutely slaughtered [by the Spanish press]. I felt a bit hard done by because it all comes down to misinformation. I obviously don't prioritise golf more than I do my country and my club and physically haven't done one thing wrong.
"I look back at it now and it's like, it is what it is. I can't do anything about it. You have to laugh or you cry. So I laughed."
