Mourinho: “If Gareth Bale is in form, there is not one manager in the world who won’t play Gareth Bale”

Whisper it quietly, but Gareth Bale may be a player back in form. The Wales international has scored 4 goals and produced 3 assists in his last 4 matches or last 190 minutes (just over two matches worth of minutes). His contribution has been vital and Jose Mourinho lavished praise on the player after their victory vs Burnley.

“It’s the best Bale that we have had during this season — more confidence, better conditioning, and most importantly, no bad feelings with injuries,” Mourinho told BBC Radio 5.

“His left foot will always be his left foot but the change of speed and direction and winning duels is not something he was able to do three or four months ago. Now he’s giving us that.”

There were some assumptions regarding a strained relationship between Bale and Mourinho after Mourinho’s previous comments put Bale’s commitment to the sport in question. Despite that, Mourinho refuted claims that the two do not get along. “Sometimes some of you like to imagine stories and you have to write stories. Sometimes you like to say things that are not really true. There is not one manager in the world who does not play Gareth Bale if Gareth Bale is in good condition. There is not one,” Mourinho affirmed.

“His knowledge of his body and his feelings are going to be fundamental. A player who gives me this kind of performance, I want to play him Thursday and I want to play him Sunday and I want to play him next week against Dinamo Zagreb.”

“But I don’t think I can. This is a process that we have to manage day bay day. The day after tomorrow we have to see how he feels. He is a very important part of this decision making because he has a lot of experience,” Mourinho explained.

In four matches, Bale has played two games worth of minutes — something Mourinho will be hoping the Welshman can improve on in the final stretch of the season. If Bale can maintain his good form and play for longer periods of time, Spurs may decide to extend the loan or purchase the player next season. If Spurs do tie the player up, Real Madrid would free significant wage space on their books.