Welsh winger Gareth Bale risked the wrath of club team Real Madrid as he trolled the La Liga giants after helping his country book a spot at the UEFA European Championships on Tuesday.
Wales beat Hungary 2-0 in Cardiff thanks to a double from Aaron Ramsey – the first of which was assisted by winger Bale.
But amid jubilant scenes in the Welsh capital Bale took time to take a dig at club team Real, where he has endured an unhappy few months after being deemed surplus to requirements by manager Zinedine Zidane only to see a mega-money move to China fall through.
Among the barbs aimed at the injury-prone Welshman by the Madrid press has been that he prefers playing golf to putting in the hours on the training pitch – and Bale played on that in savage fashion on Tuesday night as he posed by a flag taken from the crowd with the message “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order” written across it.
The barb was a reference to former Real player Predrag Mijatovic, who had told local media that “the first thing [Bale] thinks about is Wales, then golf and after that, Real Madrid. I haven't spoken to him but that's how he comes across."
Bale turned out for Wales in the final two qualifiers despite not featuring for Real since early October due to calf problems.
He reportedly has the nickname ‘the golfer’ among Real teammates due to his love of taking to the fairways, and while his flag antics won't go down well with the Real Madrid faithful, his is unlikely to care given the way the four-time Champions League winner feels he has been treated by the club.