Manchester United hero Mark Hughes has told Gareth Bale to stick it out at Real Madrid instead of moving to Old Trafford, reports the Daily Mail.
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The Welshman had a great first season with Los Blancos, scoring in both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League final which his team went on to win. However, he has endured a tougher second campaign, with fans getting on his back about perceived selfishness.
Hughes himself also played in Spain with Barcelona, but left for Bayern Munich after just one season with the Catalan club. Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with moves to bring the 25-year-old back to the Premier League, but his compatriot thinks that taking the easy way out would be a mistake.
The Stoke City boss said: “He’s done everything right up to this point and having a huge impact over there but if he can, stay as long as you can. It’s such an opportunity. From my own personal experience I made the mistake of thinking ‘I’ll just go for a couple of years and I’ll be back home and continue my career’ which is totally the wrong approach.
“When you get the opportunity to go to a club such as Barcelona or Real Madrid you’ve got to go with the intention that you’re going to try and stay there for as long as you can until they actually kick you out of the door.”
He continued: “I went there when I was 23 but I was a young 23. I wasn’t married and I’d only just met my wife-to-be a couple of months before. It was difficult – I was out there on my own at times.
“If you have a good support network, which by all accounts Gareth has over there, I’d say stay as long as you can because you’ll look back and think what a great experience that was.”
Bale missed the Galacticos’ recent win over local rivals Atletico Madrid with an injury, but could well be fit to play some part in the semi finals of the Champions League which they qualified for.