It was a performance which would have left the Bernabeu faithful in no doubt his world record signing from English side Tottenham Hotspur was money well spent, with sports newspaper Marca saluting his ‘perfect hat-trick’.

He also set up the other goal for Karim Benzema with a super cross.u00a0Bale said on the club website: “My teammates congratulated me for the match. It’s always a pleasure to score, but even more so when you can score a hat-trick in the Santiago Bernabeu.

“I’m very happy here. I needed time to adapt after not having a pre-season, but I’m improving now. Everything I hoped for has come true. The fans and the club are incredible.

“I scored three goals but I hope to do better. I can do it. I want to keep improving and working hard during the matches and training sessions and learn from the best, like Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s the best player in the world and he deserves theu00a0Ballon d’Or”.

On the progress of his Spanish, Bale said: “I’m slowly learning my first foreign language but I’m not ready to use it yet. I’m working on it a lot off the pitch.”