Jose Mourinho Takes Dig At Gareth Bale For His Performances At Tottenham Hotspur

Jose Mourinho has taken a huge dig at Gareth Bale, claiming the Real Madrid forward hasn't produced a good performance against a top team.

Bale was back on loan at Tottenham Hotspur this season, having left in 2013, and was under Mourinho's management for much of the season.

At first the Welshman didn't get too much game time but he did put together a good run of form around February, with excellent performances against Crystal Palace and Burnley in particular.

However Mourinho, who was sacked in April six days before the Carabao Cup final, has claimed that the loanee, who will return to Real after the Euros, hasn't done it against a top side.

"Over the years Wales have relied a lot on Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, the two most talented players in the country," Mourinho wrote in his Times column.

"But when I look to the club season and how many matches Ramsey played at Juventus, there were lots of injuries.

Mourinho often used Bale as a substitute. Image: PA Images

"When we look to Gareth and how many great performances he had, how many goals he scored against the best teams, there were not many or none. It's not an easy situation for a country without many options.

"But they are always well organised and know how to create a situation to try to get the best out of the more talented players."

Bale did score 16 goals on his return to north London but only his brace on the final day of the season against Leicester City, which secured Chelsea's place in the top four, were against a team in the top half.

There were goals against Stoke City and Wycombe Wanderers in domestic cups and against LASK and Wolfsberger in the Europa League.

Bale celebrates against Leicester. Image: PA Images

Mourinho's dig might be in response to Bale's own thinly veiled criticism of the new Roma manager's time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

In the wake of the former Chelsea boss being sacked, the 31-year-old was asked what needed to change at the club in order to improve.

"Just to be on the front foot a bit more," the former Southampton winger told Sky Sports, "We want to attack, we're a big team, we have great players."

Bale will now head back to the Bernabeu once Wales' Euro 2020 campaign is over and has once again seen off Zinedine Zidane in the Spanish capital.

The former Real boss clearly didn't want to play Bale and he has now left and been replaced by Carlo Ancelotti.

Topics: Jose Mourinho, Tottenham Hotspur, Football, Serie A, Roma, Premier League, gareth bale, Real Madrid, La Liga

Ryan Sidle

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