Gareth Bale has claimed that Liverpool players told him they struggled to sleep ahead of the Champions League final in 2018 because they were so nervous.
The Welshman became the story of the final as his remarkable cameo appearance as a second half substitute secured the trophy for Real Madrid. Bale entered the pitch just after the hour mark with the game poised at 1-1 – after Sadio Mane cancelled out Karim Benzema’s opener.
With the game on a knife-edge, Bale scored a stunning overhead kick past Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius within three minutes of his entrance. The former Tottenham star completed the scoring with a long-range effort, which left questions of Karius.
That was one of 15 trophies Bale won across nine years in the Spanish capital, which included five Champions League titles. The 2018 triumph was Madrid’s fourth European crown within the space of five years as they became the most successful team on the continental stage.
Bale has now explained how the mentality and mindset of the players at Los Blancos has been crucial to their successes. By contrast, that was Liverpool ’s first final in 11 years while it had been 13 years on since the Merseyside club last Champions League crown.
Speaking to BT Sport, Bale opened up on the build-up to the final in Kyiv in 2018. He explained the differences between the two sets of players, by claiming that there was a calm assurance in the Madrid squad as opposed to the nervousness of their opponents, who many thought were favourites for the game.
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"I remember talking to Liverpool players before the first Champions League final in which we faced each other," Bale recollected.
"It was hard for them to sleep, they were nervous...we had a different mentality. We only thought of winning, and even more so in a final, despite the fact that they arrived playing better than us."
Bale added: "If you lose at Real Madrid, it is like the world has ended. You are crucified. You feel down. You go home and you’re not happy.
"They (in the US) accept losing a bit more. There is no consequence. You can’t get relegated over there. When you lose a game you go on to the next one. They accept losing a lot better over there."
Real Madrid’s success on the European stage did not stop there as they would win the showpiece four years later in Paris, with Liverpool again the opponents. That would prove to be Bale’s final season at the Spanish giants, before joining Los Angeles FC.
