The dust had barely settled on one of the greatest nights in Wales' recent history and for their coach Rob Page, no praise was too high for his captain.
With his two goals against Austria that took Wales within 90 minutes of reaching their first World Cup since 1958, Gareth Bale had reminded Page of Pele and Diego Maradona, and also Lewis Hamilton and Andy Murray. Not just one of Britain's greatest footballers, but one of its true sporting heroes and an icon of the world game.
The reaction in Madrid was a little different. Having already described Bale as a 'parasite', the more frantic elements of the pro-Real Madrid media were even suggesting he should be sacked by the club. Bale delivered a long riposte on his social media channels, in which he said the Daily Mail had 'shone a light on this piece of slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism by (Spanish sports daily) Marca.'
His crime? The perception that he is more committed to Wales than Madrid, who will pay the 32-year-old about £600,000 per week until his contract expires in June.
The latest barbs aimed at Bale are ludicrous yet even his most devoted supporters would accept that their hero has not always helped himself.
He danced behind a banner that read 'Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order' after a game against Hungary in 2019. He declared himself unavailable for the humiliating 4-0 home defeat by Barcelona in El Clasico last Sunday, before joining Wales training barely 48 hours later. Neither Page nor Bale would elaborate on the problem beyond saying it was 'a niggle'.
Watching Bale inspire a nation on Thursday, it was astonishing – and sad – to think these may be the final days of his top-level career. Though he does not turn 33 until June and is clearly good enough to contribute for Madrid as they target and domestic European glory, Bale is essentially an international player only these days and has clocked up just 270 minutes for his club this term.
As former Manchester United striker and Spanish football expert Terry Gibson put it: 'Real Madrid are paying Gareth Bale 600 grand a week to be fit for Wales'.
It is an absurd situation, made all the more bizarre when assessing Bale's achievements in Spain, where he has won 17 major trophies in nine years, including four Champions League winner's medals. No British player abroad in the modern can rival him yet by the way Bale is derided, you could be forgiven for assuming he had failed.
Page will never make such mistakes. 'Yes, absolutely,' he nodded, when invited to compare Bale with Pele, Maradona and Johan Cruyff. 'You have just named some world-class players that you associate with their countries. Gareth Bale is probably one of the biggest players in world football.
'He should be spoken about in as high regard as the others you mention (Hamilton, Murray and Rory McIlroy). The young players in the squad look up to him. He is more than just a footballer when he turns up on camp, especially to these younger players. He leads by example.'
The elephant in the room is what comes next. What if Wales lose their play-off against either Scotland or Ukraine, scheduled for June, and miss out on a place in Qatar? Is Bale, hugely wealthy and with a successful career behind him, ready for the daily grind of club football again, without a major tournament on the horizon? At times over the last five years Bale has seemed – apart from when on Wales duty – to have lost his love of the game.
'As for the future, we have had a lot of interest in him but we have not done anything,' Bale's agent Jonathan Barnett told Sportsmail. 'After June we will discuss what we want to do.'
'It's a shame the supporters in Britain don't see that in the Premier League,' added Page. 'I want him back in the PL and back playing football so the fans can enjoy what they saw on Thursday every week.'
Before a qualifier in Azerbaijan in November 2019, Bale said representing Wales was 'like playing with your mates down the park on a Sunday'. At this stage of his career, it is clear only international football can give Bale the same carefree enjoyment he had as a child. All of Wales will hope there are at least a few more chapters still to be written.