Real Madrid star, Gareth Bale has said footballers nowadays are robots and the pressure at top level football has taken away the joy he once derived from playing with his pals.
Bale, 29, has won 13 trophies including four Champions Leagues in six seasons with Madrid, and also led Wales to a historic semifinal place at Euro 2016.
His words, “As a professional athlete — especially in a team environment — you don’t get to choose your schedule, maybe like a golf or a tennis player,”
“So we’re kind of just robots. We’re told where to be, when to be there, what time we have to eat, what time we have to go to the coach.
“It’s kind of like you lose your life in a way. You don’t get to choose what you want to do, when you want to do it. But a career in football’s so short, sometimes you just have to sacrifice it.”
“When you’re a kid you have no thoughts in your mind, you can just enjoy with your friends, having a laugh,”
“When you come to the elite level there’s all sorts of pressures, there’s expectations, there’s people talking negatively all the time and yeah, it loses that childlike feeling. I guess it’s natural for pretty much most sports to be honest.”
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate