'From villain to hero' - how Spanish press reacted to Gareth Bale's loan move from Real Madrid to Tottenham
Gareth Bale's loan move from Real Madrid to Tottenham has brought a mixed reaction from the media in Spain.
The Welsh winger completed a season-long deal on Saturday after seven years in Madrid, which have featured many successes but also plenty of difficulties – especially since his wonderful overhead kick in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool.
Madrid-based sports daily AS contrasted the 31-year-old's warm welcome back at Tottenham with his fall from grace among Real fans. "From villain to hero," their front page said on Saturday.
"Bale was received in London as a superstar," they added. And in an editorial inside on Sunday, journalist and Zinedine Zidane biographer Frederic Hermel claimed there had never been an argument between the player and his coach.
"Zizou is a pragmatic coach who always tried for the Welshman to be useful for Madrid," he wrote. "Without response. Bale doesn't have a problem with anyone. He has a problem with football."
On their front page on Saturday, Marca published a photo of Bale embracing Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho. "All yours," the headline read. "Bale arrives at Mourinho's Tottenham... injured for a month."
And on Sunday, journalist Jesus Mata called Bale "an incomplete legend" in an editorial which recalled his spectacular highs and also his low points at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"Why were the fans at the Bernabeu so excited and why did they ask for so much? Because he gave them a handful of reasons. The Valencia run, the Lisbon header, the penalty when he was limping in Milan and his masterpiece, the overhead kick in Kiev.
"Some will now think that 'he only turned up on a few days'. It may be true, yes, but those days will be kept forever in the trophy room at the Bernabeu."
El Mundo Deportivo noted that Bale had made history at Madrid, but also that "it's not how you start, but how you finish". And the Barcelona-based paper considered that Real fans "will not forgive the innumerable affronts to the club that will be the deepest mark left by a player who was different – for both good and bad (reasons)".
Also in Barcelona, Sport said that Zidane had won a political battle with Madrid president Florentino Perez. "Case closed, Florentino frustrated," was their headline.
And they added: "In the end, the Frenchman's successes have tipped the balance in his favour and Florentino was left with no other option but to give the player away."
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