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Bale: Less pressure at Real Madrid than Spurs

Bale has settled well in La Liga © Getty Images

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Gareth Bale has revealed that he feels under less pressure at Real Madrid than he did at Tottenham.

Bale was very much the talisman at Spurs before leaving this summer in a world record €100 million deal to become just one of many stars at Madrid. Indeed it is playing among his stellar team-mates at the Bernabeu that has made the transition to Madrid easier for the Welshman.

"They lead by example," he told the Daily Telegraph. "If you ever want to talk to them they're always there to listen. It's great to play alongside them because they're world-class players too.

"At Tottenham I was always trying to get onto the ball and make everything tick, whereas here everybody's doing that, there are world-class players all around the pitch and you're able to concentrate just on your game rather than bringing the whole team forward, and I'm enjoying that."

After taking a while to get going, Bale has scored nine goals in all competitions and he puts his early rusty form down to having been injured in July and August.

"It was difficult not having a pre-season, you miss a lot of ball sessions and running and everything," he said. "Once I felt I was able to do that physically and mentally, I felt I was able to show what I was able to do."

As one of only a handful of British players to have moved to play their football abroad, Bale also believes that it will make him a better player in the future.

"I enjoyed my time in England but I also like other styles of football and coming to Spain," he added.

"I'll learn other types of football, different ways to play and it will make me better as an all-round player, and hopefully it will make me better for my country. If other players did that I'm sure it'd help their games as well."

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