Courtois aims a dig at "The Golfer" Bale for not bonding with the team
The Belgian goalkeeper, who is no stranger when it comes to expressing his opinions in public, claims Bale hasn't adapted to the Spanish lifestyle.
Thibaut Courtois, a summer signing at Real Madrid, feels he's fully adapted to life in Spain now. This was largely helped by his lengthy stay at Atletico Madrid whilst on the books at Chelsea. This is something he believes teammate Gareth Bale has failed to do.
"The other night all the team had dinner, but Bale and Toni (Kroos) did not show up. They thought the dinner was too late. We met at 9.30pm and we started eating at 10:15pm, at midnight we were all having a coffee,” the Belgian keeper told HLN.
“We went to bed around 1am to train the next day at 11am. For me, I think it's a perfect amount of time to sleep. But Bale said: ‘I'm not going to join you guys, I'm going to bed at 11pm' and he didn’t show up."
The failure to adapt is perhaps one of the reasons he doesn't perform as well as he could on the pitch.
"It is very hard to describe Gareth in one word. I would say he has so much talent, but that it is such a shame that so often that talent is blocked from shining. I live like someone who was born and raised in Madrid. I eat late, I go to bed late. It's their way of life.”
Courtois also claims that Bale prefers to fly back to his house in Wales, where he has his own three-hole golf course, rather than stay in Spain. Hence why he's referred to as 'The Golfer' by his teammates.
