Alvaro Arbeloa Claims He Ran over Gareth Bale in Car After Reports of Cover-Up

Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa has joked that he ran over the world's most expensive player, teammate Gareth Bale, in his car.

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.@aarbeloa17 photo w Bale: “The truth is I ran him over with my car, but he’s a strong fellow and he’s still alive” pic.twitter.com/tcAFXfIbha

— AS English (@English_AS) January 8, 2014"

Arbeloa's response was a light-hearted reaction to some more sinister allegations from a Spanish radio station that he had put a reducing tackle in on Bale during training, and the club had covered it up.

The Daily Mirror reports the claims:

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The full-back had left Madrid's world-record signing with a "numb and blackened leg" after a strong challenge in training, and that the club had been forced to cover it up in order to protect the Spanish international - who has previously received strong criticism from breaking club captain Iker Casillas' hand in a practice game.

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Presumably Arbeloa's cheery tweet puts those suggestions to bed. However, it does raise a whole new set of questions about Bale's superhuman ability to withstand being mowed down by a car.