Bale: “I’m in very good shape and ready to play, I’ve only focused on this match against Austria”

Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale talked to the press right ahead of Wales’ crucial matches against Austria, which will decide the team advancing to the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup. The forward trained with the team and appears to be perfectly fit and ready to play for the Welsh national team.

Bale missed Sunday’s El Clasico against Barcelona with back pain, even though he initially was fit and included on the team’s squad list. The Welshman could’ve been an option to replace Benzema in the starting lineup.

“Generally speaking I’m in very good shape, as I’ve been training for the last two months. I am ready to play tomorrow. As soon as I found out that we were going to play these two games, I’ve only focused on this matter,” he said.

These quotes from Bale have been highly controversial, especially after being withdrawn from Real Madrid’s squad list only to play and start for the Welsh national team just three days after El Clasico. It’s quite clear by looking at Bale’s quotes and also his actions that the Welshman is just not willing to risk an injury for Madrid, even though the club is still paying his salary. In fact, Bale will probably finish the season having played more minutes for Wales than for his club, even though he kicked off the season being an option for coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Bale’s contract expires this summer and it’s obvious that he will not be a Real Madrid player when the 2022-2023 season starts.