Mourinho insists Bale is happy ... and he certainly showed it from the stands

José Mourinho, manager of Tottenham Hotspur, underlined how happy Gareth Bale has been since his move from Real Madrid, and said that he is convinced that he will be back to his best once he has recovered from his injury and begins to play again in his new role in English football.

"You can see he's happy, it's easy to see. He's very happy and happiness is important in life and in football," he told DAZN before his team's round of 16 match against Chelsea, during which the player looked happy despite often being distracted by his mobile phone.

Mourinho recalled that he had wanted to sign Bale for Real Madrid: "He knows that I wanted him at Real Madrid, but that season was not possible because we were very close to signing Modric. He is a player that I like very, very much".

And he welcomed his recent arrival, convinced that he will get back to his best: "He's not ready to play yet, but he's working very well with the doctors and that makes me confident that, when he comes back, we'll be getting the great footballer that he is.

"With me, it is the best players that play, so he won't play because he's Gareth Bale, but because he'll prove he's the best," he added.

Finally, the Portuguese coached said he is confident Bale isn't only at Tottenham for one season on loan from Real Madrid: "I haven't spoken to Zinedine, but I imagine that he is happy with his departure. We are happy with his arrival and hopefully at the end of the season we will all be happy and he will be able to stay".