Gareth Bale tells James Rodríguez: put down roots at Real Madrid

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jul/24/gareth-bale-roots-james-rodriguez-real-madrid

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Gareth Bale has advised James Rodríguez to settle in the Spanish capital as soon as he can if he wants to make an instant impact with Real Madrid.

Asked on As.com what advice the £86m world’s most expensive footballer would give to the world’s fourth most expensive £63m footballer, Bale said: “Obviously it’s hard to adapt. The first is to get on the pitch and find a place to play. Then put down roots in the city. The club helped me a lot.”

Bale had struggled to hold down his place at first after signing a six-year deal with the European champions last September. The Welsh winger arrived carrying an injury but came good in the second half of the season, scoring a stunning goal to win the Copa del Rey against Barcelona and then putting Real ahead as they went on to beat Atlético Madrid 4-1 in the Champions League final.

Rodríguez has yet to join his new-team mates who are on tour in the United States since he joined from Monaco, but Bale was quick to extend the hand of friendship to the young No10 who made such an impression at the World Cup, scoring in each of Colombia’s games as they reached the quarter-finals where they lost 2-1 to the hosts Brazil.

“He’s shown that he’s a great player,” Bale, speaking at North Athletic Field at UCLA, said. “When someone comes to Madrid they join the best in the world. I hope James can do what he did at the World Cup with us.”

As for himself, Bale felt the Real fans would see a new, improved version for 2014-15. “My adaptation last season was difficult because I didn’t have a pre-season. This season I feel like I’m training well. Hopefully the preparation helps us achieve our objectives this season,” he said.

“When you first arrive it’s hard. But a lot of the players speak English and that was useful for me. It was a huge change. It took a while but with time I’m feeling good. I want to improve each season: give more assists, score more... I want to improve everything.”