Former Wales star Gareth Bale once behaved like a baby when he wanted a transfer.

That is the view of ex-England forward Jermain Defoe, who played with Bale at Tottenham in the Premier League.

As Bale attempted to force through his mega money move to Spanish giants Real Madrid, he was not happy with Spurs' reluctance to sell him.

Speaking on The Players' Channel podcast, Defoe said: We went to Hong Kong and he traveled.

After training, we were having lunch. At this point he's started sulking because he's probably thinking 'I'm in Hong Kong, I just want to go to Madrid'.

"Fair enough. He's sitting there like this just sulking right, like a little baby. I'm like 'Gaz, what's wrong with you? What, you're not going to eat? Just you're going Madrid, you're not going to eat?'

"'Gaz, come on man. If it don't happen, it's cool. Just stay here, it's alright, it's only Madrid'. At the time, he was probably thinking 'right, this is close'. But there was no guarantee it was going to happen. He had to come pre-season. Like if you're not going to Madrid, you have to do a pre-season. You're a Tottenham player."

More must-reads:

TODAY'S BEST
Hornets make decision on next head coach
Giants sign former Pro Bowl wide receiver
Report reveals why the NBA did not suspend Jamal Murray
Pressure mounts on Nuggets as Nikola Jokic wins third MVP Award
Jalen Brunson shakes off injury to lift Knicks to Game 2 win
Panthers dominate Bruins to even series
LSU HC pins transfer portal struggles on reluctance to 'buy players'
Pirates announce date for 2023 No. 1 overall pick's MLB debut
Shohei Ohtani showing what would happen if he only focused on hitting
Joe Burrow shares 'support' for Bengals who requested trades
Canucks erase three-goal deficit to stun Oilers in Game 1
Watch: Pacers star ties playoff high in threes in one half
Former NFL player has major warning for Steelers QB Justin Fields: 'You can't fall into this'
Watch: Brad Marchand hurdle Panthers player on Charlie Coyle goal
LeBron James rues 'missed opportunities' against Nuggets
Cardinals star gives update on timeline for injury rehab
Police investigating Patrick Beverley incident
J.J. Watt addresses possibly ending retirement to play for Texans
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi could surpass two major MLS records
Reporter weighs in on potential Giants quarterback controversy