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

Bale hit back at the Spanish newspaper for a column that described him as a paranoid person.

Bale has been accused of being more committed to Wales than Real Madrid.

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 talk and criticize people.

Bale wrote on social media that the pressure on athletes is immense.

Bale, who joined Real Madrid from Spurs for a world-record fee of $85 million, was accused of sucking the club's money.

Bale has won 14 trophies with Real, but he has been criticized 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.

The front-page headline was sarcastic when he was pictured smiling while training with Wales this week, days after missing Madrid's heavy defeat against Barcelona.

Since the last international window in November, Bale has played two hours of football for Real and made two appearances.

After his incredible performance against Austria, the former Spurs forward stopped short of answering his critics, but said that he was hurt by the coverage he had received.

He told Sky Sports that he didn't need to say anything.

It is disgusting. They should be ashamed of themselves. I am fine.

If I am able to play, I can hit a free-kick. It was nice to see it come in.

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

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

I hope that by the time our children are old enough to read news, journalism ethics and standards will be more strict.

I want to use my platform to encourage change in the way we talk about and criticize people, just for the most part, not meeting the unrealistic expectations that are projected onto them.

Helen Ward says Bale is right to call out the criticism he feels has overstepped the mark.

She told Radio 5 Live that he was absolutely right to call it out and that it had tipped public figures over the edge.

He is right to use his platform to make things better for himself and others in the future.