Gareth Bale spoke to BBCWales before the match that his team, Wales, will play against Belarus (Sunday, 3pm). A key meeting for Welsh aspirations to attend the next World Cup in Qatar-2022. The 'Red Dragons' occupy the third position of Group E, and in the appointment against the Belarusians and Estonia (Wednesday 8, 7:45 pm) a good opportunity to get close to the top (the group is led by Belgium with 10 points from four matches, followed by the Czech Republic, second, with seven from the same matches).
Bale's decision to remain in the Spanish capital has been seen as a close relationship with Carlo Ancelotti, who has taken the player out of nowhere after a tense relationship with his predecessor, Zinedine Zidane: “I've always had a great relationship with Carlo, but it's still the same in the sense that you have to give up to be able to join the team. I had a good preseason and a good start to the season (the Welshman scored in Madrid's visit to the Levante field on the second day). “He also admitted that the arrival of the Italian coach has led to a better climate in the team:” I think it is always good to be in a good environment. That is the main reason why I went to Tottenhamas I knew it would be a good environment for me. It was a break that maybe I needed at the time, and I had a great time with the Spurs. It definitely helped me get back to a happier place, and I think that was shown again by coming back with Wales in the Euro, and then I have brought him to Real Madrid this season, where there is obviously a better environment for me anyway“.
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Bale was asked about his future in the Welsh national team, to which he was very blunt about the possibility of playing the Qatar World Cup in 2022: “I have not thought about anything beyond this game (the match against Belarus) to be honest. I'm just thinking about each and every one of The games as they come, I'm just trying to enjoy it. I want to play a World Cup with Wales, not just for me, but for the whole country. I think it would be an incredible experience for the nation. Now we are totally focused on trying to do that. “And on the possibility of reaching a hundred games defending the 'Red Dragons' jersey, Bale concluded:” In terms of international matches, I think all the players would love to get to all 100 international matches. I'm very close and it would be nice if I can do it. “
Another topic he spoke on was his long-term future. A horizon that has been the subject of intense speculation, particularly during the run-up to Euro 2020, and in which it has been suggested that he was thinking of retiring after the end of his contract with Real Madrid in 2022: “Everyone seems make up stories when he wants to. I don't know. They just make up some crazy things. I never planned to retire. As I said before, I just wanted to focus on the Euro and I didn't want to have to explain. I didn't feel like I needed it. I don't feel the need to do it yet, and I think no matter what I said I was going to do, whether it was staying, leaving, retiring, whatever, it would have made a great story. An annoying story, and a distracting story. So i think it was better for me to say nothing and try to focus on the job at hand“.