It was a tough second season for the world’s most expensive player, but he insists he won’t be bailing this summer after just one go.
Gareth Bale was unable to show consistency across the whole of this year at Real Madrid, but when asked about his future, the 25-year-old was adamant he will be continuing to earn his keep at the Bernabeu.
“I’m a Real Madrid player and I’ll carry on as normal,” Bale told The Sun. “I am enjoying it and hopefully I can continue to. I feel settled. I’m looking forward now to playing and winning more trophies. My goal is to keep improving, performing and to win as many titles as I can.”
Many have speculated that he could be on his way out after fans seemed to blame him for most of Real Madrid’s failures, some fairly and most others unfairly. He was booed often down the stretch and managed just 208 minutes in Madrid’s final eight league matches.
“I know what I can do,” he said. “I know when I haven’t done something right or to the best of my ability and I take full responsibility to make amends by working harder in the next game.”
“Playing for Madrid is a learning curve for me. I’m still getting used to being at such a big club. It has been a great experience in good or bad times. Personally I’ve enjoyed it. Maybe I haven’t scored as many as I would have liked. It’s something for me to work on in the off season to get my finishing a bit better.”
Amid reports of a rift with Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale stated, “People are trying to create problems which aren’t there. It’s good and normal in training and playing with Cristiano. You train with the best players and you try to improve as much as they do.”
It will be the job of new manager Rafa Benitez to handle Bale’s workload going forward. The squad will be interesting to analyze this summer, as Bale’s story unfolds as well as that of other players such as Chicharito, Isco, Asier Illarramendi, and James Rodriguez and see how they fit into Benitez’s plans. James was the most successful player of the bunch this season, endearing himself to fans with consistent production along with an element of flair. Chicharito struggled much of the season, but came on strong in the latter stages, only to find himself benched down the stretch by Carlo Ancelotti when he was at his most deadly. The Mexican striker has since returned to Manchester United. Isco and Illarramendi were also hit and miss. All of this will come amid reports Benitez looks to use Cristiano Ronaldo as the central striker next year.