Gareth Bale: Real Madrid star fires back at Marca after the Spanish paper branded him a 'parasite'

Gareth Bale has ripped into Marca for writing a 'slanderous, derogatory and speculative' story on his situation at Real Madrid which described him as a 'parasite'.

The Spanish newspaper launched an astonishing attack on Bale earlier this week,  accusing him of 'sucking' Madrid's money while seeing out the remainder of his £15million-a-year contract.

Journalist Manuel Julia Dorado, writing in a column for the publication, said:  'The Bale parasite came from the cold and rainy Britannia. He settled in Spain, at Real Madrid, where, masked, he first showed diligence and love for the guest, but then his nature led him to suck blood without giving anything in return. Well, more than blood, he sucked, and sucks, the club's euros.'

Following the brutal story, Bale has taken to Twitter to fire back at Marca and mention the Daily Mail for drawing attention to it on Thursday.

'The Daily Mail shining a light on this piece of slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism by Marca,' he wrote.

'At a time where people are taking their own lives because of the callousness and relentlessness of the media, I want to know, who is holding these journalists and the news outlets that allow them to write articles like this, accountable?

'Fortunately I have developed a thick skin during my time in the public spotlight, but that doesn't mean articles like these don't cause damage and upset personally and professionally to those at the receiving end of these malicious stories.

'I have witnessed the toll the media can take on peoples (sic) mental and physical health. 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.

'The everyday pressures on athletes is immense, and it's as clear as day, how negative media attention could easily send an already stressed athlete, or anybody in the public eye, over the edge.

'I hope that by the time our children are of an age where they are able 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.

'We all know who the real Parasite is!'

Marca fired another dig at Bale after his two goals inspired Wales to victory in their World Cup qualifying playoff semi-final on Thursday.