Gareth Bale has defended himself against years of criticism over his golf playing during his time at Real Madrid, insisting he was "hard done by" due to widespread misinformation about his habits.
The Welsh football icon revealed he picked up his clubs far less frequently than the Spanish press suggested.
Bale explained: "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."
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The former winger acknowledged public perception painted an inaccurate picture of his priorities.
He said: "Because people believe what they read, they created a character that I'm not."
The British former footballer admitted he was perhaps "naive" about the intensity of media scrutiny in the Spanish capital.
The 36-year-old also disclosed for the first time that personal circumstances heavily influenced his decision to retire at such a relatively young age.
Gareth Bale has defended himself against years of criticism over his golf playing during his time at Real Madrid
|GETTY
Bale revealed his father Frank fell ill, which fundamentally altered his perspective on life and football.
He told GQ Magazine: "My dad got ill and that played a massive role in my decision.
"People don't know what anyone's going through at home but I soon realised there's more to life than just football."
The former Tottenham and Real Madrid star announced his retirement in January 2023, shortly after Wales were eliminated from the Qatar World Cup at the group stage.
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The interview also addressed the notorious "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" flag controversy that erupted when Wales secured their place at Euro 2020 in 2019.
He said: "What am I supposed to do? 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.'"
"I got absolutely slaughtered," Bale recalled, adding that the furore stemmed entirely from false assumptions about his commitment levels.
Gareth Bale signed an eye watering £150million contract with Real Madrid in 2016 | GETTYBale's trophy haul during his nine seasons at the Bernabéu included five Champions League titles and three La Liga crowns, cementing his status among the club's most decorated foreign players.
For Wales, he remains unmatched as both the nation's record appearance holder with 111 caps and all-time leading scorer with 40 goals.
Across his entire club career, which began at Southampton before moves to Tottenham and then Madrid for a then-world record £80million, he netted 185 times and provided 133 assists in 554 matches.
The Cardiff-born star nearly guided his country to European glory at Euro 2016, where they fell to eventual champions Portugal in the semi-finals.
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