Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo shared five successful years at Real Madrid before going their separate ways. However, there were often reports that the pair didn’t see eye to eye off the pitch.
Fans even noted that Ronaldo wasn’t always the happiest player on the pitch when Bale scored, and the Portuguese superstar once name-checked the Welshman to claim that he didn’t spend much time with his teammates off the pitch. So, what does the Welshman have to say about his time with ‘CR7’ in Spain’s capital?
Gareth Bale Says He Didn’t Have a Poor Relationship With Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid
Bale quashed any prior reports of having a strained relationship with Ronaldo during the pair’s time in Spain. In an interview with GQ Magazine, the Welshman was asked if he was in touch with any of his old teammates.
“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 [Cristiano] Ronaldo, we never had an issue, never had an argument, never had a fight, never had anything,” he said.
Bale left Santiago Bernabeu in 2022 after spending nine successful seasons at the club and joined LAFC on a free transfer. He hung up his boots the following year, retiring with 22 trophies to his name – 19 of which came with Los Blancos, where he registered 106 goals and 68 assists in 258 appearances.
Bale was also asked how he felt about the fact that there will be several players older than him, like Ronaldo (40) and Lionel Messi (38), who could be playing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Bale, now 36, retired from the sport just under three years ago. Although he had a wildly successful career, many believe he could have hit greater heights had he not had a plethora of injury struggles – especially after joining the Galacticos.
“If you had asked me that a year ago, it would have made me not feel nice inside. But I’m out of the other side of that now where I’m content. I played a football game the other day and yeah, I definitely couldn’t keep playing so the decision was definitely correct,” said Bale.
Wales are currently in the play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, where they will face Bosnia & Herzegovina in the semis before playing either Italy or Northern Ireland in the final.
