Spanish newspaper Marca once again took aim at Gareth Bale after the Real Madrid outcast scored a vital double for Wales on Thursday night.
The 32-year-old forward proved his doubters wrong with a virtuoso display for his country by scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Austria to help them advance to within 90 minutes of a first World Cup finals since 1958.
His inspired performance came just hours after the publication accused the Wales star – who is in the final year of a six-season deal at the Santiago Bernabeu and reportedly earns £15million a year – of ‘sucking’ money from Real Madrid.
Marca once again took aim at Gareth Bale despite his brace for Wales against Austria
The 32-year-old’s goals means they are just a game away from their first World Cup since 1958
Bale netted a magnificent free-kick before blasting home a strike into the top corner at the Cardiff City Stadium, but Marca – though complimentary in areas – could not help with a few more swipes at the forward.
The headline of the Spanish publication’s match report read: ‘Bale is a phenomenon when he wants to be.’
His goals ensured Wales would face either Scotland or Ukraine in June – a game which has been delayed due to Russia’s invasion of the latter.
It led Marca to add that during that World Cup play-off final ‘Bale will have to again demonstrate he is a star, a thing which in Madrid he has not wanted to show for around the last three years’.
The front page of the publication focused on Italy’s failure against North Macedonia but added Bale had ‘recovered’.
Marca led on Italy’s defeat but said Bale had ‘recovered’ with two decisive goals (bottom left)
The front page of AS went with the headline: ‘Ya Le Bale’, word play involving the Wales star’s name which made for positive and negative reading.
The phrase roughly translates as ‘that’ll do now’ or ‘that’s enough’, but also hints at the performance being something ‘that’s ok for him’.
The front page plays on the forward’s name sounding like the Spanish word ‘vale’ – meaning ‘worth’ or ‘ok’), and the phrase as a whole can be roughly interpreted as a snide comment meaning ‘oh, he cares’.
But they also could not help but mention Bale’s goals came after he ‘dropped out’ of Madrid’s Clasico hammering by Barcelona with a back injury.
However, there was also slight praise for Bale too, as he ‘gave a lesson in how to be decisive’.
But it came a day after Marca‘s extraordinary rant which read: ‘The Bale parasite came from the cold and rainy Britain.
AS went for word play with Bale’s name, roughly translating to a snide remark of ‘oh, he cares’
‘He settled in Spain, at Real Madrid, where, masked, he first showed diligence and love for the guest, but then his nature led him to suck blood without giving anything in return. Well, more than blood, he sucked, and sucks, the club’s euros.
‘Unlike others of its kind, such as the flea, the louse or the bedbug, the Bale parasite does not cause itching or illnesses in its host, but after sucking, it laughs and makes fun of it, showing a jocular contempt for the one from whom he lives.
‘He laughs, applauds, throws himself on the ground, sings, as a kind of humiliating ceremony, which, luckily, has an expiration date, like all misfortunes.’
Accompanying the article is a mock-up of Bale as a mosquito, further underlining the paper’s belief that the Welshman has drained the club’s resources over the years.
But responding to the article, Bale said: ‘I don’t need to send a message, it’s a waste of my time, it’s disgusting. They should be ashamed of themselves.’
Injuries have restricted Bale to just one LaLiga appearance at Madrid since August
The Welshman is poised to leave Madrid on a free transfer this summer after nine years in the Spanish capital, and has endured a miserable campaign at the club.
He has played just one league game since August having been out injured with knee, calf, back and muscular problems as well as a positive Covid-19 test.
But Bale insisted he can still be relied on to produce an excellent performance at club level, having come through the 90 minutes largely unscathed aside from minor cramp issues as Wales now face the prospect of playing Scotland or Ukraine for a place at the World Cup.
‘It was a massive game’, he told Sky Sports. ‘We knew that. We had to perform and dig deep and use our experience in big games. It’s the perfect scenario.
Marca mocked up Bale as a mosquito feeding on the Real Madrid club crest in their attack
‘I can hit a free-kick if I am able to play. It was nice to see it go in. The early goal gave us that momentum and the second one was nice as well.
‘I had some cramp at the end which I guess is normal but l will run into the ground for this country and we all did that tonight.
‘That’s half the job done. We will enjoy tonight. There is still another tough game against either Scotland or Ukraine and we will be ready for that when it comes.’
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