Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, once the most expensive player in the world, still doesn’t understand why his love of golf causes so much negative reaction.
The 30-year-old, speaking to Erik Anders Lang, opened up about the harsh public reaction – mainly from his club’s Spanish fans – whenever images emerge of him enjoying an outing.
‘A lot of people have problems with me playing golf,’ said Bale.
In 2019, the Welshman celebrated his country’s qualification for Euro 2020 in front of a banner reading: ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that Order’.
Madrid fans did not take kindly to the sentiment.
‘I don’t know what their reason is because I’ve spoken to doctors and everybody’s fine with it. The media has this perception that it’s not good for me, you should be resting, it can cause you injuries.
‘[Basketball player] Steph Curry plays maybe on the morning of a game, but if I play two days before a game it’s like, ”What is he doing?”’
Bale loves golf so much it is reported he plays twice a day off-season when not practising in his back garden.
