Reflecting on the modern state of football, Bale expressed concerns that the game is becoming increasingly rigid. He believes the individual freedom that allowed him to thrive at Spurs and Madrid is being coached out of the next generation in favour of strict tactical systems, making the sport feel more like a grind than an entertainment spectacle.
“Especially in the last five years, the manager has become a bit more dominant and it’s a bit more of a tactical approach,” Bale said. “Football is not so much an end-to-end game now. It’s more of a chess game than a basketball game, which isn’t as exciting… you don’t see as much (dribbling) and the players don’t do it. Maybe that’s because the managers are telling them but there are still a handful of those players that can get you off your seat, like Mbappe, Lamine Yamal and Vinicius Jr. But maybe there’s just not as many because they’re not allowed to be.”
