Gareth Bale deserves the respect of Real Madrid fans as he leaves the club, his Wales manager Robert Page says.
Bale won a joint-record fifth Champions League title on Saturday, albeit having barely featured this season.
After facing withering criticism from fans and the Spanish media in the past, the Wales captain was applauded as Real celebrated at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
“They [Real fans] showed class and rightly so for what he’s achieved for that football club,” said Page.
“You look back to what he’s done, scoring winners in Champions League finals and in the manner in which he’s done it, he deserves all the plaudits, absolutely.
“What an achievement for him personally. To be a part of that group of people, that team that’s achieved that, is phenomenal. Not many players can say they’ve done that, so credit to him for that.”
Bale’s initially glittering but recently fractious nine-year stay at Real will end when his contract, worth an estimated £600,000 per week, expires this summer.
After celebrating Saturday’s win over Liverpool with his team-mates in Madrid on Sunday, the 32-year-old has joined Wales’ squad as they prepare for Wednesday’s Nations League match in Poland, four days before Sunday’s World Cup play-off final against Scotland or Ukraine.
Wales are aiming to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1958 so, with such an important fixture on the horizon, Bale is unlikely to play many, if any, minutes against Poland.
“It’s risk and reward. The biggest game we’ve got is on Sunday and that’s no disrespect to Poland whatsoever,” said Page.
“We’re going to show them complete respect but we’d be mad to jeopardise our top, top players so, without answering it directly, you know where I’m going with it.
“He’s in good spirits as he always is. He was adamant he was meeting the players in Portugal [where Wales have been training] to fly to Poland with them, which speaks volumes. He wanted to be with the squad as soon as possible.
“He’s as humble as ever, he’s met up with the group and he’s been first class right away.”
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