'Bale wants to stay at Madrid for the rest of his life'

Gareth Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, gave an interview to 'Fichajes.com' and as well as talking about his sports management company, 'Stellar Group', he analyzed the situation of his biggest client. Barnett insisted that the Welshman wants to stay at Real Madrid.

Bale has not been able to play with any continuity for the past season and a half due to a series of injuries, which has lead to rumours linking him with a move back to England.

Now, the Real Madrid striker is set to return in their upcoming Copa del Rey tie and his agent spoke about him, and the criticism he has received recently.

"Being the agent of a player like him is fantastic. He is one of the best people I know. Those aren't just words, it's a fact. Everyone can see it, Gareth doesn't have a bad bone in his body. He has become a fantastic player," said Barnett.

"He is among the three best players in the world and I'm very proud of him. With a bit of luck he'll be back at his best playing fantastic football in a few weeks. You'll be able to see how good he is," he added.

He also spoke about the rumours linking his client with Manchester United: "I think the Real Madrid fans need to see how good he is and understand him and support him. This is very important for his development. He wants to stay at Madrid for the rest of his live. He loves Madrid, the city, the way of life and he loves the club.

"He truly loves the club, and of course it hurts him when the fans don't support him and they do it with others who aren't as good as him. It's crazy, it only happens in Spain and I don't understand it. The fans need to understand this and know how good of a person he is," he said.

Barnett also commented on the Spanish press: "I have to be careful, but some journalists in Spain write complete rubbish. They're not based on football reasons and that's a mistake. The journalists write, but they don't take their time to analyze what they've written.

"During his time at Real Madrid, the club have won three Champions Leagues, La Liga, Super Cups, the Copa del Rey... since he's been here they've won it all. The supporters should love him," he added.

That being said, Bale's agent insisted criticism doesn't affect him: "If he was doing badly and the club didn't believe him, that would affect him, because he loves Real Madrid. He loves the fans! And that's what matters to him, not what the journalists say. He takes no notice of what the press say."

"Barnett also dismissed and reports linking Bale with a move back to England: "I think the people that write those stories should go back to school and learn what journalism should be like. It's not about making up stories. I don't want to get angry because I have ready made up stories," he said.

The agent also considers that Bale's move from Tottenham to Real Madrid has been a successful one: "What do you think? It's a dream for him. He has won everything he possibly can apart from the World Cup. He's only 28 and he's done it all. I don't think there's a player in the world who has won all of that in just a short time.

"He's done it with Cristiano Ronaldo Sergio Ramos... the whole team, but they have taken much more time. He has a desire to play football, he doesn't do it for the money. He simply loves Real Madrid and wants the fans to support him," he insisted.

He also explained why Bale doesn't speak Spanish and denied claims that he doesn't know the language: "That's a lie. He is very calm, likeable and shy. For him, speaking is embarrassing but he can do it perfectly," Barnett said.

"Every since he was young, he doesn't see the need to justify himself. He's a footballer and you can see what he does on the pitch. He doesn't have to apologise to anyone. If he does something wrong he'll admit it, but why does he have to say 'hi I'm here and I'm talking'? He doesn't have to do that," the agent said on why Bale didn't speak for himself.

"That's what he believes. If someone wants to speak with him, great, he will speak to them. But he's not going to call a press conference just to say that he can speak Spanish," he added.

"I think the critics should be watching these games without Gareth Bale very carefully. It will stop because they will see that when he returns the team will improve and that's when the critics will have to apologise. I hope they see the best Gareth Bale and they apologise," he said on the criticism directed at the player.

Finally, he admitted that failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia was a huge blow for Bale: "He is very sad about that, because once again he couldn't play. He loves Wales."