Atletico Madrid's Saul Niguez Says He and Gareth Bale Speak in Spanish

Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez has said that when he has met Real Madrid rival Gareth Bale in the past the pair have spoken in Spanish.

The Welshman has garnered a reputation in Madrid for failing to integrate well into Spanish society, including not learning the language.

In an interview earlier this year, Real defender Marcelo said that, six years on from his move to the Santiago Bernabeu, Bale still did not speak any Spanish and was hard to communicate with in the dressing room. 

Meanwhile, Thibaut Courtois described Bale's refusal to join a team dinner because it was too late in the evening, per HLN (h/t Sky Sports).

But Spaniard Niguez has now said when he has met Bale, they have talked in Spanish, per Cadena Ser (h/t Marca):

"Bale and I sometimes meet when we went to see our agents. He surprised me a lot, a super nice guy, we spoke...in Spanish."

Bale, 30, has been incredibly successful since moving to Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for a then-world-record fee of £85 million in 2013.

He has won four UEFA Champions Leagues, scoring crucial goals in three of the finals he has played in, a La Liga title and numerous other trophies, and his goalscoring record is impeccable:

However, he has never been a fan favourite at the Bernabeu and has often been inexplicably out of favour, including with current manager Zinedine Zidane:

The Frenchman said in the summer that he expected Bale to leave the club:

A deal for Bale to move to Chinese Super League side Jiangsu Suning was subsequently blocked by the Real board, though, because they wanted a transfer fee.

He started 2019-20 in decent fashion, scoring two goals and providing two assists in six La Liga appearances before picking up an injury that has kept him out of action since early October.