Bale must learn Spanish to succeed at Madrid - Ian

The Liverpool legend, who had to adapt to
Italian culture when he joined Juventus from
the Reds, has told his fellow countryman that
settling in off the pitch will be crucial
Ian Rush has urged Gareth Bale to learn
Spanish if he is to succeed at Real Madrid
following his world-record move to the Liga
outfit.
The former Wales international, who has
experience of high-profile moves abroad after
he swapped Merseyside for Juventus in 1987,
believes the 24-year-old must embrace the
Spanish culture and language.
“The most important thing about making the
move abroad is being happy off the pitch. If
you’re not happy off the pitch, you won’t
perform on it,” Rush told the Daily Mirror .
“Also you have to learn the language. That will
definitely be needed. It took me six months to
learn that.
“When you’re a player you think that the
football is all that matters. But small things
like not knowing the language do affect your
performance on the pitch.”
Ahead of Bale’s potential debut against
Villarreal, Rush believes there are question
marks over the former Tottenham man's
fitness after he missed much of Spurs' pre-
season campaign.
“The bigger issue for Gareth on the pitch is his
fitness,” Rush added.
“He hasn’t played for a bit and you do need at
least four games to get match fitness. You can
make mistakes playing for Wales and get away
with it. You won’t get away with it playing for
Madrid.”