Gareth Bale has revealed how he dealt with the pressure of joining Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur.
In the summer of 2013, the Wales international joined the La Liga giants for £85m - a fee which eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo's move to the same club four years prior.
To go with the huge price-tag, Bale also had to deal with playing for one of the most successful clubs in the world where demands are much different to what he was previously used to.
Almost seven years later, Bale has enjoyed great success with Los Blancos - including winning the Champions League on four separate occasions - and he's explained how he managed to cope with being the most expensive player in the world at the time.
"I know there's no such thing in the United States, because the system is more exchange-based there, but when a club in Europe buys you for a lot of money, there's a lot of pressure because God knows how many millions have been paid for you," Bale said, as transcribed on Reddit.
"There is this pressure to present yourself in the right way.
"When my transfer came about, it was a little strange. I knew it was a world record then, but I never really thought about it. I left it and I just wanted to play ball.
"What happened happened happened, and I tried to show my best side on the pitch.
"You know, a lot of people said I had to prove my worth, but I came up with a different approach and I dropped the burden."
Bale also opened up on his love for football and golf, where he aimed a subtle dig at Real Madrid supporters.
"It's different now," he added. "Football is a job for me, and golf is something where I go out alone, without anyone, I smile, I don't have any pressure on me except for the pressure I put on myself, I just hit the ball.
"It's good fun, no stress, playing with friends, usually good weather here too.
"The ball has become business. There's a lot of pressure on us. When you don't play well, the level of rating is huge... 80 thousand people whistled at me because I didn't play well.
[Laughs] "It happened several times. The first time I asked myself: "Wait, what is it?"
