Gareth Bale: Wales and Real Madrid forward hits back at Spanish media

Gareth Bale is the Wales men's team's all-time top scorer with 38 goals in 101 games

Wales captain Gareth Bale has hit back at Spanish newspaper Marca for a column which described him as a "parasite".

Bale, who scored twice against Austria on Thursday to take Wales to a World Cup play-off final, says he wants to use his profile to "change the way we publicly talk and criticise people".

"The everyday pressure on athletes is immense," Bale wrote on social media.

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The column in Spanish news publication Marca accused Bale, who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham for a world-record fee of £85m in 2013, of "sucking the club's money".

Bale has won 14 trophies with Real, including four Champions League titles, but he has been criticised, particularly in recent seasons, for his injury record.

The 32-year old is out of contract this summer and has refused to be drawn on his future at Wales press conferences.

When he was pictured smiling while training with Wales this week, days after missing Madrid's heavy defeat against Barcelona, Marca's front-page headline was a sarcastic: "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Bale has played two hours of football in six months for Real and made just two appearances since the last international window in November.

The former Tottenham forward stopped short of answering his critics after his incredible performance against Austria, but alluded to being hurt by the coverage he has received.

"I don't need to send a message," he told Sky Sports. "I don't need to say anything, it's a waste of my time."

"It's disgusting. They should be ashamed of themselves. I am not fussed, end of.

"I can hit a free-kick if I am able to play. It was nice to see it go in."

Bale's statement on social media made clear his disappointment at how the Spanish media have written about him.

"The media expect superhuman performances from professional athletes and will be the first to celebrate with them when they deliver, yet instead of commiserating with them when they show an ounce of human error, they are torn to shreds instead, encouraging anger and disappointment in their fans," he wrote.

"I hope that by the time our children are of an age to ingest news that journalism ethics and standards will have been enforced more stringently.

"So I want to use my platform to encourage change in the way we publicly talk about, and criticise people, simply for the most part, not meeting the often unrealistic expectations that are projected onto them."