Gareth Bale : Real Madrid transfer saga was very stressful

Gareth Bale has revealed the stress he felt as his protracted world record transfer from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid neared completion.

There were many times that the £85m move was seemingly on the verge of collapse as the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, tried to get the best deal for his club.



"It was a long time. It was very stressful to say the least," Bale told BT Sport. "I knew their interest from the start and I was always confident the move would go through but obviously the chairman, Daniel Levy, had to do his business and do Tottenham well so I kind of understood that. But at the same time, thinking of myself, It was a hard time, it was stressful and I just had to be patient and try to focus."

Since completing his switch on Sunday night, Bale has spoken of his move to the Bernabéu as a dream and has now revealed how he used to follow the club as a child.

"When I was younger I had some close friends and we always loved European football and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force and we always watched Real Madrid. I remember family holidays, we used to go Spain, and we'd bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and wear them out and always pretend to be the players when we played in the park. It just started from there and I followed them since.

While this week may have been difficult for the 24-year-old, he also had a tough time as a young player at Southampton as injuries threatened his progress.