Marca have attacked Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale, labelling him a 'parasite' and accusing him of 'sucking' the club's money after he joined up with the Wales squad this week.

Journalist Manuel Julia Dorado, writing in a column for Marca, declared: "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.

"Unlike others of its kind, such as the flea, the louse or the bedbug, the Bale parasite does not cause itching or illnesses in its host, but after sucking, it laughs and makes fun of it, showing a jocular contempt for the one from whom he lives.

"He laughs, applauds, throws himself on the ground, sings, as a kind of humiliating ceremony, which, luckily, has an expiration date, like all misfortunes."

Accompanying the article is a mock-up of Bale as a mosquito, further underlining the paper's belief that the Welshman has drained the club's resources over the years.