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Analysis
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Gareth Bale defends himself from THAT infamous flag incident and reveals why he retired early
Martin Macdonald
- 10 Dec 2025 07:45 CST
- 7 min read
Nieuws
Gareth Bale has sought to explain the circumstances behind the infamous 'WALES. GOLF. MADRID' flag that haunted him at one stage of his career.
In September of 2013, Bale became the most expensive footballer in history at that point when he joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for €100 million.
He would go on to have a extremely successful spell with Los Blancos, winning three La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, two UEFA Super Cups, three FIFA Club World Cups and, most impressively, five Champions League titles.
Bale's best moment in a Real Madrid shirt undoubtedly came in the 2018 Champions League final when he scored the best goal of his career and one of the best the final has ever seen, rising high for an outrageous overhead kick.
Despite the Welshman's contributions on the pitch, he was never universally popular among the Madrid fans due to his quiet demeanour, aloof nature and yes, his supposed love of playing golf instead of acting like a 'Galactico'.
Things hit a low ebb when Wales qualified for the European championships and he found himself behind a flag emblazoned with the words 'WALES. GOLD. MADRID. IN THAT ORDER.'
Unfortunately for Bale, the Spanish press were outraged as he already had a reputation for expanding too much time on the fairways - which, it turns out, was an unfair assumption.
"That slogan is the one thing I felt hard done by," Bale told GQ of the flag and the fallout.
"For one thing, no one knew how much golf I actually played [golf]. If I ask you now how much golf you reckon I played, you’d probably say three or four times a week maybe, something along those lines?
"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. But people don't know that so they make up that slogan.
"We’d just qualified for the Euros so I'm obviously celebrating, the whole team's there, then someone puts the flag [with the slogan] in front of me. What am I supposed to do?
"I'm like, 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. Then what happened happened."
Following the 2022 World Cup in which Wales disappointed in the group stage, Bale made the decision to retire at the age of just 33.
{"type":"header","rows":["Player","Clubs","Fee","Year"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["1. Neymar","Barcelona → PSG","€222m","2017"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["2. Kylian Mbappé","Monaco → PSG","€180m","2018"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["3. Alexander Isak","Newcastle → Liverpool","€145m","2025"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["4. Philippe Coutinho","Liverpool → Barcelona","€135m","2018"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Ousmane Dembélé","Dortmund → Barcelona","€135m","2017"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["6. João Félix","Benfica → Atlético Madrid","€127.2m","2019"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["7. Enzo Fernández","Benfica → Chelsea","€121m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["8. Antoine Griezmann","Atlético Madrid → Barcelona","€120m","2019"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["9. Florian Wirtz","Leverkusen → Liverpool","€117.5m","2025"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Jack Grealish","Aston Villa → Man City","€117.5m","2021"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["11. Cristiano Ronaldo","Real Madrid → Juventus","€117m","2018"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["12. Declan Rice","West Ham → Arsenal","€116.6m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["13. Moisés Caicedo","Brighton → Chelsea","€116m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["14. Eden Hazard","Chelsea → Real Madrid","€115m","2019"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["15. Romelu Lukaku","Inter → Chelsea","€113m","2021"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Jude Bellingham","Dortmund → Real Madrid","€113m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["17. Paul Pogba","Juventus → Man Utd","€105m","2016"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["18. Gareth Bale","Tottenham → Real Madrid","€101m","2013"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["19. Harry Kane","Tottenham → Bayern","€95m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Randal Kolo Muani","Frankfurt → PSG","€95m","2023"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Antony","Ajax → Man Utd","€95m","2022"]},
{"type":"row","rows":["= Hugo Ekitike","Frankfurt → Liverpool","€95m","2025"]}
]}}table_end}
The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom are younger than Bale, are set to take part in the 2026 World Cup next summer.
Accusations were levelled at Bale that he didn't have a true love for football, but he has revealed that he partly made the decision due to family reasons.
“My dad got ill and that played a massive role in my decision," he confirmed.
"People don't know what anyone's going through at home but I soon realised there's more to life than just football.”
Bale: I never had one argument with Ronaldo
Bale was part of the famed 'BBC' trio alongside Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. The three stars playing together proved hugely successful for Real Madrid, though there were rumours they didn't get on - largely due to three big egos being in play.
But, the Welshman says he never had a crossed word with Ronaldo in particular, even if the pair were never best pals.
When asked if he still stays in touch with any of his former team-mates, Bale responded:
"I'm not really in touch with that many – a few of the Wales boys – but I always got on with everybody. I never had any problems with anyone. I never had any big arguments. Sometimes the media might say about me and Ronaldo, we never had an issue, never had an argument, never had a fight, never had anything."
Bale has largely kept out of the limelight since retiring but has enjoyed a few stints as a pundit on TNT Sports and was on duty for the Europa League final as Tottenham defeated Manchester United.
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