has branded the recent criticism of him in the Spanish press as ‘disgusting’ and made a pointed comment on his lack of game time at after putting on a masterclass for Wales.
Despite making just two appearances for Real since the end of August, the 32-year-old showed no signs of rustiness as he netted twice in a Man-of-the-Match performance in Wales’ 2-1 victory over Austria in their qualification play-off.
The former Tottenham winger opened the scoring with a remarkable first-half free-kick that arrowed into the top corner, before doubling his tally shortly after the restart with another exceptional left-footed finish.
Although Austria grabbed a goal back through Marcel Sabitzer, Wales managed to hang on and will now take on either Scotland or in the summer for a place at the World Cup later this year.
Hours before Bale’s heroics for the national team, the Welshman had been the subject of an astonishing attack from the Spanish newspaper Marca .
Asked if he had sent a message to those critics with his performance on Thursday night, Bale told Sky Sports: ‘I don’t need to send a message, honestly.
‘I don’t need to send anything, it’s a waste of my time. It’s just disgusting and they should also be ashamed of themselves. I’m not fussed, end of.’
Real boss Carlo Ancelotti has frequently overlooked Bale this season despite the Spanish giants often looking short on ideas in attack, but he knows he is still capable of moments of magic if he is given the chance to be on the pitch.
He continued, pointedly: ‘I can hit a free-kick if I am able to play! It was nice to see it go in. The early goal gave us that momentum and the second one was nice as well.’
He added: ‘I had some cramp at the end which I guess is normal but l will run into the ground for this country and we all did that tonight.
‘That’s half the job done. We will enjoy tonight. There is still another tough game against either Scotland or Ukraine and we will be ready for that when it comes.’
Speaking about Bale’s performance in spite of his struggles at Real, teammate Aaron Ramsey said: ‘It’s not been easy for [Bale] but him coming and playing for his country, it means everything to him. You can see that from the way he plays.’
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