Bale angry at Courtois for spilling dressing room secrets and revealing Real Madrid outcast is nicknamed ‘The Golfer’
GARETH BALE is furious with Thibaut Courtois for spilling dressing room secrets and revealing that he is nicknamed 'the golfer', according to reports.
The Welsh wonder is also believed to be tired of the constant scapegoating of him by Spanish media throughout his time with the La Liga giants.
Bale, 29, refused to celebrate after scoring Madrid’s late winner in the 2-1 triumph at Levante last night.
He pushed away colleague Lucas Vazquez as he attempted to celebrate with him after converting from the spot.
Bale did later accept the congratulations from other colleagues such as Dani Carvajal and Luka Modric but made no secret at his off-field frustrations.
Despite seemingly appearing to have a problem with Vazquez, those claims have been rubbished.
Instead Catalan press claim the ex-Tottenham attacker is instead upset with goalkeeper Courtois and defender Marcelo.
Former Chelsea stopper Courtois recently revealed that Bale cuts an isolated figure from the rest of the squad, who have nicknamed him 'the golfer' due to his preference for nine holes instead of mixing with his team-mates away from the field.
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Bale’s refusal to acknowledge Vasquez’s congratulations led to speculation it was down to bad blood from the latter starting instead of the former.
But it now seems Vasquez was just an inadvertent victim of the ex-Southampton trainee’s frustrations over Courtois’ comments and the negative media coverage he keeps receiving.
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And despite scoring twice to seal a 13th Champions League crown for the club last May, he is still struggling to win over large sections of the Bernabeu too.
Although it must be noted these reports from the Catalonia newspapers come in the build-up to this week’s El Clasico double header.
Barcelona travel to Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final second-leg on Wednesday with the scores tied at 1-1 from the first meeting at the Nou Camp.
They then return to the Spanish capital on Saturday for a crunch league showdown that could see Real close the gap on the leaders from nine to six points.
Vinicius, Karim Benzema and Vazquez have all been preferred as the front three in recent weeks as Bale anxiously waits to see whether he is given the nod instead.
When quizzed on Bale’s celebrations, Madrid boss Santiago Solari said it made him “full of joy” before adding: “He can celebrate however he wants as long as we win.”
Meanwhile, Bale has also come under fire from his old Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, with the Italian claiming the “selfish” forward caused a huge mess that led to his exit in 2015.
Ancelotti, who the Champions League during the pair’s first year together before his departure 12 months later, told Il Napolista: “If there is something that drives me crazy, it is selfishness. When a player has to pass the ball and does not pass it.
“I paid for that in the first person. At Madrid, I took off Bale in a game against Valencia. He had to pass the ball to Benzema, who would have scored into an empty goal, but instead of that, he shot (and missed).
“It was the reason that triggered an argument with Florentino, I took him off and the mess began there.”