GARETH BALE has reignited his rivalry with England by vowing: I want to beat them badly at any sport.
The Wales legend will lead Team World against an English side in Golf’s Icons of Football – a Ryder-Cup style tournament staged this weekend.
Twenty-four ex-footballers including Premier League greats Ryan Giggs, John Terry and Gianfranco Zola will compete in the two-day event in Bangkok starting on Saturday with the winners receiving cream jackets.
And Spurs hero Bale also stirred up the North London derby divide by revealing he wants ex-Arsenal star Theo Walcott to place the jacket on his shoulders.
Bale famously taunted England before Euro 2016 when he declared the Welsh had more pride and passion than their arch rivals.
Bale, 36, said: “Is there anything better than beating England?
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“As a Welshman, the only thing better than beating England is beating them badly.
“Let’s try and beat them. Hopefully they are not lifting the trophy at the end of the week. Golf is a game of respect but I want to win.”
The cream jacket is the Icon Series’ version of Golf’s famous Green Jacket, which is given to the Masters winner in Augusta, Bale added: “I have heard about the cream jacket.
“I saw some videos and it looks a bit brutal. I guess that’s the golden nugget to try and do that.
“It would be nice for Theo to be putting it on me. Arsenal putting it on the Tottenham shoulders. That would be nice.”
Bale will also face ex-England goalkeeper Joe Hart once again – almost a decade on from his stunning 35-yard free-kick at Euro 2016.
Hart reckons he should have saved the long-range effort but Bale quipped: “But he didn’t…
“Hopefully they’ll let another one slip in during the match this week.
“To score against England was great. Obviously, the result wasn’t what we wanted.
“But we actually topped the group. So there’s a win over England already.
“The free-kick was moving and it went away from him. It wasn’t one of the easiest ones even though maybe it looked easy.
“It’s always nice to score from my country, especially in such a big game in a major tournament.”
Bale, who is a scratch golfer, claims he does not view himself as a football icon despite winning the Champions League five times with Real Madrid.
The retired star said: “I don’t call myself an icon. When people do call you that it’s a bit strange.
“You go back to your childhood and you’re watching the superstars play on TV, winning trophies and playing for the biggest clubs in the world.
“When you finish, you’re able to look back and see, ‘Oh, I actually did that’.
“It’s cool when somebody does say it. It gives you a nice feeling about what you achieved in your career.”
Team World: Captain Thomas Bjorn, Bale, Batistuta, De Jong, Giggs, Ginola, Gullit, Larsson, Ramsey, Riise, Shevchenko, Yorke, Zola.
Team England: Captain Danny Willett, Bullard, Andrew Cole, Fowler, Hart, Ince, Jagielka, Jenas, Phil Jones, Sharpe, Sheringham, Terry, Walcott.
*Gareth Bale was speaking ahead of his debut at the Reignwood Icons of Football, where 24 of the world’s most iconic footballers swap the pitch for the fairways.
The high-stakes golf showdown sees Team England battle Team World in a Ryder Cup-style format at Bangkok’s Robinswood Golf Club.
You can watch all the action live on Sky Sports from 31 January – 1 February.
