Rafael van der Vaart has advised former Tottenham team-mate Gareth Bale to be a "positive arsehole" at Real Madrid.
Bale has been heavily linked with a transfer this summer after a difficult season which has seen him booed by Madrid fans.
The Wales international has been criticised for his poor Spanish language skills, with Marcelo claiming he does not speak inside the dressing room.
But Van der Vaart, who spent two years at the Bernabeu between 2008 and 2010, believes Bale should not give up on his Madrid career despite a host of reports linking him with a return to the Premier League.
"It’s strange, but in Holland we say that sometimes you need to be an a***hole,” the former Netherlands international told Standard Sport.
"You can also be a positive a***hole. He’s worth €100m – they paid a lot of money and he has to do it. In his last year at Spurs, he took every free-kick, he decided everything.
“That’s what he has to do [at Real]. I realise it’s difficult, because you have so many good players, but he should do it more.”
Bale will hope to be involved when Zidane Zidane's side take on Huesca in La Liga on Sunday.
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