The manager of Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho has stressed that the Instagram post Gareth Bale shared ahead of the club’s game against Everton was a contradiction of reality.
Tottenham played Everton on Wednesday, February 10, 2021, in the 5th round of the FA Cup. To the dismay of many, Gareth Bale didn’t make it into Tottenham’s squad despite sharing a picture of himself on Instagram before the match showing that he participated in the club’s training.
In the caption, Gareth Bale who returned to Tottenham Hotspur on loan on September 19, 2020, from Real Madrid, wrote “Good session today”. However, until the FA Cup match ended at Goodison Park, Bale was not seen anywhere near the stadium.
His absence was more felt in the thrilling FA Cup match which ended 5-4 in favor of Everton because Tottenham needed a special touch from a player like Bale in the game. But the Wales international that scored 60 goals and provided 58 assists in 218 games for Tottenham before he joined Real Madrid on September 1, 2013, for a transfer fee worth €101million, was nowhere to be found.
During the post-match press conference, Jose Mourinho was asked about Bale, the Portuguese tactician told the media that Gareth Bale suddenly developed discomfort before the match. He also said the player chose to remain with the team’s medical team for further examination.
Despite Jose Mourinho’s explanation over the absence of Bale during the post-match press conference, he was asked about the Welsh forward again on Friday ahead of Tottenham’s game against Manchester City.
Mourinho who was dragged into clarifying Bale’s absence from the Tottenham FA Cup match against Everton and the player’s Instagram post insisted that Bale was sick and needed a scan ahead of the match. He however revealed that he might feature against Manchester City today, February 13 at 18:30.
“I have to admit that his post created a need of being addressed. There was a contradiction between the post and the reality,” said Mourinho.
“Since the beginning of the season, about everything, I’ve tried to be very private and keep everything indoors but I felt that I needed to address the situation.
“Probably the post was not even his responsibility, but it was showing that training session was ‘great’ and ‘I’m ready’ which was totally wrong. So when questioned I had to give the reality of things.
“I repeat for the last time. He was not feeling good. He asked for a scan. He had a scan. The scan did not show an injury but his feelings were still there. But as coaches, medical people, we can never go against the player’s feelings.
“So he was not ready for the game. It’s as simple as that. If he’s ready for tomorrow he’s selected for tomorrow.”
Since Bale joined Tottenham Hostpur on loan last summer, he has managed to play just 230 minutes of Premier League football. He has however scored a league goal so far this season.
The 31-year-old right-winger who is expected to return to Real Madrid at the end of this season has made a total of 15 appearances and has scored four goals in all competitions for Tottenham Hotspur this season.
