Gareth Bale hits out at Spanish press over 'disgusting' coverage labelling him 'parasite'

Gareth Bale has hit out at "disgusting" Spanish media coverage about his appearance for Wales.

The 32-year-old produced two terrific strikes for his country, earning a 2-1 victory over Austria and moving Wales within one game of ending their 64-year wait to play at a World Cup.

But his appearance for Wales comes just days after he missed Real Madrid's 4-0 defeat to Barcelona on Sunday night, which has attracted criticism by some Spanish media outlets.

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti had said he "didn't feel well", with the Wales management saying he had a "little niggle".

Newspaper Marca published an image of Bale and teammate Joe Rodon in Welsh training gear alongside the headline "it doesn't hurt anymore" on Wednesday.

Bale has also been labelled a "parasite" by a Marca journalist.

Responding to a question about whether he was sending a message to the critics in his goal celebration, Bale told Sky Sports: "I don't need to send a message, honestly.

"It's a waste of my time. It's disgusting and they should also be ashamed of themselves. I'm not fussed. End of."

Bale came into the Austria game with doubts over his fitness, having played just 77 minutes for Real Madrid since the end of August following hamstring and calf injuries.

But he put them to bed just 25 minutes in.

"It was a massive game," Bale said after Wales had set up a play-off final date with either Scotland or Ukraine.

"We knew coming into it, we spoke yesterday about how big the game is and we have to perform.

"We knew we would have to dig in deep to look into our experience in big games. It's a perfect scenario."