|
MADRID, March 7 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid star Gareth Bale claimed that the Spanish Liga Santander is not as competitive as the English Premier League, but he has no intention of leaving Real Madrid in the near future.
Bale made the surprising comments in an interview with ESPN, which was also published in Spanish sports paper, Diario AS on Tuesday.
He was asked about recent poor displays by English sides in Europe and explained he "knew the reason...."
"It is the league itself. In every game in the Premier League you have to be at 100 percent in the entire 90 minutes or else you will lose," he said, before citing the fact that other leagues have a winter break.
"In Spain you can be wining at half time against a side that is down in the table and you can take your foot off the accelerator. If you only try for 45 minutes in the Premier League you won't win a game," he said.
His opinion is backed up by Madrid's recent win in Eibar, where they were 3-0 up at halftime and cruised to a 4-1 win against a usually competitive rival, who are known for their high workrate, which went missing against Madrid, while last week struggling Sporting Gijon rested 7 first team regulars for their 6-1 defeat to Barcelona.
"If you look at the difference between first and 20th place, the Premier League is the most competitive, on any given day the side in 20th place can beat the league, but that doesn't happen as much in Spain, there is a bigger difference," the striker added.
"The Premier League is the most competitive league by a long way, but it is Spanish sides that perform better in Europe," he continued.
However, Bale doesn't seem to miss the weekly competitiveness of the Premier League, when asked about his future, his answer was clear.
"My idea is to stay here as long as I can," he insisted.
