Ian Rush urges 'compatriot' Bale to learn Spanish for succeeding at Real Madrid

Former Welsh football star Ian Rush has urged new Real Madrid signing and countryman Gareth Bale to learn Spanish to be a success at Real Madrid.

According to the Mirror, the Wales and Liverpool legend is aware about making the transition from English football to a big club abroad having famously left Anfield for Juventus in 1987 although his fee was a 3.2 million pounds in stark contrast to Bale's world-record 86 million pounds.

Believing that the hurdles he discovered in trading the England spotlight for Serie A is what he has is common with the former Tottenham Hotspur star, Rush said that although he took six months to settle in Juventus, he believes that players today should be given some time to adjust themselves at a new, especially a foreign club.

However, Rush urged Bale to learn Spanish as it will be needed by him in the Madrid dressing room, adding that even though he believes that Bale will have success at the Bernabeu, small things like not knowing the language may affect his performance on the pitch.

According to Rush, if a player is not happy off the pitch, he cannot perform on it, adding that although he agreed with the fact that football is an universal language, he however, believes that a player also needs big-game training.

However, Rush said that a positive thing for Bale will be that he will have the support of his entire family who will also be there with him, adding that the player liaison officers will do everything in their power to help him adjust in Madrid.

But Rush again stressed the need to learn the language, saying that Bale will need to know Spanish to do basic things like opening a bank account, although he added that even if he does not need to do that, there are a lot of times when he would feel in need of the language.