Toshack: "Half the Real Madrid team are close to leaving"
The former Real Madrid coach chatted to Gol about the respective situations of several key players such as Marcelo and Bale and feels it's the end of an era.
John Benjamin Toshack, who enjoyed two stints on the Real Madrid bench, chatted to Gol about the respective situations of a number of key players at the club, and believes that many will move on in a summer clear-out.
Cristiano, against Atleti tonight: "I like a lot of what he does, but I'm not so keen on other things; like may people here in Spain say Cristiano annoys people for one reason or another but then you have to show them videos of his games, his goals, the trophies he's won... he's one of the great players in the history of football. I'm sure he'll he's be fired up to put in a great performance and cause Atlético a lot of problems".
Bale not learning the lingo
Bale's stuggle to learn Spanish: "I came to Spain for the first time, to Real Sociedad, in 1985 and things were very different: in the Basque Country then, people spoke in Basque and Spanish. When you move to another country to work, whether you find it hard or not, you have the obligation to at least try and learn the language. There are people who are ok with that and others who aren't. After six or seven years, Gareth, and I say this in all sincerity, should be able to express his feelings in the same language of the country he is living and working in - for respect to the people around him. It might be a small thing, but it's actually very important".
End of an era at Real Madrid: "Time waits for no one and Marcelo's best years at Real Madrid are behind him - it happens to every player, now the moment has arrived when they are thinking about someone else replacing him. And it's noy just Marcelo - half of the current Real Madrid team are close to leaving. In general, they need to renew the team and not just the left-back position".