‘I legally have to go back’: Bale clarifies Real Madrid return after being accused of trolling Spurs with recent comments

Welsh football star Gareth Bale has been accused of using Tottenham Hotspur as a "gym", but has confirmed he will return to Real Madrid at the end of his loan.

Speaking ahead of Wales' World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic tomorrow, the four-time Champions League winner addressed speculation surrounding his return to Real. 

Previous comments from the 31-year-old were seen as disrespectful by Spurs fans, so Bale wanted to set the record straight. 

"Going into next season, my contract says legally I have to go back to Real Madrid which is what I stated," Bale began. "I'm not being disrespectful to anybody, that's literally what I have to do.

"Real Madrid are, I guess, my parent club and as far as I agreed I am on loan at Tottenham until the end of the season and then I go back. That is the plan so far," Bale continued.

"The reason I left is because I wanted to play games and get match fit and enjoy my football.

"Obviously come the summer I will be going back to Real Madrid and will go from there. The plan is to go back and whether then I sit down with my agent and decide is something I will do in the summer."

Bale was also asked about his lack of playing time, an issue under Jose Mourinho as much as it was on Zinedine Zidane's watch, with the Qatar-held World Cup on its way next year. 

"Obviously in football it's not all about what you want, there is the other side," Bale answered.

"But I am concentrating on this season. Obviously we have a big game tomorrow, we have a big end of season with Tottenham and then the Euros in the summer.

"So at the moment I don't need to worry about anything else than this season and, regarding next season, after the Euros and my summer holiday, I will sit down and we'll go through something then and hopefully come up with a solution."

On a separate theme, Bale backed Thierry Henry's social media boycott. 

"If everyone did it at once, not just one or two people, I would," vowed Bale. 

"If it was a campaign where a lot of influential people in sport and other forms of life on social media make a statement then I think it could help. If that was the case I'm all for that."

For Bale, the topic hits close to home considering teammates Ben Cabango and Rabbi Matondo received racial abuse following a 1-0 friendly win over Mexico at the weekend. 

"It was not nice to wake up on Sunday to hear these things," he said. "Ben, Rabbi and anyone else knows we are here to talk to them and support them if they need it.

"Something needs to happen in terms of the social media companies, whether it is people getting an account [who] need to put a password in.

"I think that will stop people saying things because then you will able to trace them down and hold them accountable."