Former Tottenham star cannot wait to get started with Real Madrid.
Gareth Bale is hopeful of making his Real Madrid debut at Villareal on Saturday.
The Welshman has played just 35 minutes of competitive football since May after missing the whole of pre-season through injury, as his protracted move from Tottenham to Real Madrid dragged on.
The 24-year-old spoke to media for the first time since his world record £85.3m switch said he was hopeful of featuring immediately after making his return to action in Wales’ home defeat against Serbia.
“We have to wait until the match day [against Villareal] to see whether I’m picked or not but hopefully I can get my fitness up straight away and get a place in the team.
“Obviously I went straight away on international duty which probably wasn’t the best but I’ve been back for the last two days now.
“The boys have been very nice to me and made me settle quickly and its just an honour to be here.”
Bale has made no secret of his admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo, the man who he eclipsed as the world’s most expensive player, and the Welshman said it was ‘amazing’ to come face to face with the former Manchester United star.
“It was amazing. He’s a nice guy, he made me feel welcome just like everybody else did, they made me feel settled straight away and I’m just looking forward to getting on the pitch and doing well.”
Bale said he was hopeful of quickly adapting to Real’s style and added that he feels ‘good’ despite his limited playing time of late.
“I hope so, that was a key factor in me wanting to come here, the style of football obviously suits the way I play and I just have to get my head down and work hard in training and hopefully produce performances on the pitch worthy of everybody else.
“I feel good, I’ve been training last week with Wales I’ve had two good sessions today. I got half an hour to 40 minutes game time with Wales and I’m feeling good but obviously I’m a bit behind physically than everybody else but hopefully I can catch up as soon as possible.”
Well-travelled superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed this week that Bale would be under immediate pressure at the Santiago Bernabeu, while even Los Blancos’ assistant manager Zinedine Zidane has confessed Bale’s transfer fee was extortionate.
But Bale is confident he can cope with the pressure of playing for the world’s biggest club and says he is happy to play wherever boss Carlo Ancelotti feels is appropriate.
“I think being at Real Madrid there’s pressure to win every game and everybody knows that. We’re all working hard on training and working hard on the pitch to achieve our goals and win everything we can.”
“I’m just looking forward to getting on the pitch and wherever the manager puts me I’ll be giving 100 per cent.”
Finally, Bale said his target is to win trophies this season with Real.
“I’ve learnt how to say it. Everyone wants to win trophies at Real Madrid, it’ll be like every other season at Real Madrid, trying to win every trophy we’re involved in and hopefully we’ll do so.
“It’s exciting times for the club I think everybody wants to work hard to win every game and trophy, all the team are focused on that and hopefully we can win a lot of titles.”
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