Gareth Bale: 'I don't know why people have a problem with me playing golf'

Gareth Bale has said he cannot understand why there is such an obsession with his passion for golf, adding that he has sought medical advice as to whether it could have an impact on his football.

The Real Madrid forward is routinely criticised in Spain for his enthusiasm for another sport, and has even been nicknamed ‘the golfer’ by his club team-mates.

Bale, who has created a golf course in his back garden, has been increasingly willing to hit back at his critics in recent months, especially after Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane tried to force him out of the club last summer.

Last year, he celebrated Wales’ qualification for Euro 2020 by dancing with a flag that read: “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.”

Speaking to the Erik Anders Lang Show podcast in an episode that aired this week, Bale said: “A lot of people have problems with me playing golf. I don’t know what the reason is.

“I have spoken to doctors and everybody is fine with it. The media have this perception that it is not good for me. ‘You should be resting, it can cause problems, injuries.’

“I have looked in America, and I know for example that [basketball player] Steph Curry plays maybe on the morning of a game. Here, if I play two days before a game it’s like ‘what is he doing?’

“I just like going out to play, thinking I have got 18 holes ahead of me. You can get away from football, anything negative that is going on, and reset your mind.

“The next day you feel a bit more fresh and ready to go and concentrate and feel better about football again.”

Bale said in September that his ‘golfer’ nickname makes him “very happy” as he insisted that football is his “number one” sport.

He was subjected to further criticism in the Spanish capital for celebrating with the “Wales. Golf. Madrid” banner but said earlier this month that it was nothing more than “a bit of banter”.

He also told the Hat-Trick podcast that he could not comprehend why he has been booed by Madrid fans in recent years.

“I get it if it is aimed at the team if you are not playing well or at half-time you are down by a couple,” Bale said. “But to boo your own player, or whistle your own player like they do, it's just wrong.

“Because if you are having a bad game, you want your fans to get behind you. If they start whistling your confidence goes down even more – everything becomes more difficult.

“You're going to play worse, which is going to make them more angry. They are hurting themselves in a way. To me, it makes no sense.”