biography gareth bale

Gareth Bale

Gareth-bale.com is a fansite devoted to professional welsh footballer who currently plays for la liga side real madrid, gareth bale..

Gareth (Frank) Bale was born in Cardiff on July 16th 1989. His dad’s name is Frank (school caretaker) and his mom’s name is Debbie (operations manager). He went to Eglwys Newydd Primary School at Whitchurch. He was spoted by the Southamptom scouts right in this school at the age of 9 while playing 6v6 tournament. His nephew is a former Cardiff City player, Chris Pike. His favourite player as a kid was Manchester UTD legend Ryan Giggs.

Bale went to Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. He continued with good performances in sports, not only in football but in rugby and hockey too. At age of 14 Gareth could run 100 meter sprint in 11.4 seconds. Because of his amazing football skills, the school’s PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had special rules for Gareth, and that was to play one-touch football and not use his preferred left foot. While at Whitchurch, Bale trained for Southampton’s academy in Bath, although they had some doubts if they should give him a scholarship because of his height.

Being only 16, he played for the school’s under-18 side and won the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup. He graduated high school in 2005 with of course Grade A in PE. As a senior he was awarded with the PE department’s prize for services to sport. As a comment, Morris (his school’s PE teacher) said:

“Gareth has a fierce determination to succeed and has the character and qualities to achieve his personal goals. He is one of the most unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure to help educate.”

Bale began his professional career playing for Southampton, as a left back, getting reputation as a free kick specialist. After he transfered to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, his team gave him a more offensive role. After an initial rocky period at the Lane, he put in a string of dazzling performances both domestically and in Europe that attracted the attention of clubs across the continent. Real Madrid came calling, and he currently plays for a star studded side with the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema, Khedira, James and Kroos as his teammates.

38 thoughts on “ Biography ”

hi gareth,i and every body love playing very very much,i love com to real madrid beacase you playing with ronaldo and ozil,…this is fun,wonderfull,perrty.

Hi Bale ! I have heard that you are leaving RMA .!?!?!!? please don’t leave the club!!!!!!!!!!!!! we love u to be with Ronaldo

Hi bale i’m real madrid fan and i and my friends and all of real madrid fans love you more than other players and same as cristiano ronaldo !please accept our team’s offer and make one billion people happy!pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

so as me i love him and he unstoppable

hi gareth bale please go to real madrid

hi bale…..i seriously LOVE the way you play….yes i know u miss champions league football….but please please be in SPURS…. Atleast be in spurs for one more season and then leave….and help spurs qualify for champions league…..YOU ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD….

Gareth frank bale is one of the best players in the world i luv bale more than anything.

Damn man when i saw u i thought this guy is the best dude in thieir playing footall love u bale

Well, I just wanted to thank you, because a friend of mine compared your unselfishness to mine, and I wanted to see what kind of a person you are. And i just red that southampton wasn’t sure about you being a star, because of your height, and you just didn’t care and proved that they were wrong. I should do what you did, ignore the people that doubt you. Thanks and good luck at Bernabeu !

I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST,IM YOUR STRONG SUPPORTER FROM KENYA…………………………………………………………………..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic Gareth you are an Icon to every Football Fan inspiration of what it takes to be a true Professional and at the Top of your Sport , Spain and Real Madrid going to be Tough Part its about Film star status with Ronaldo and the Team as Madrid is some Party City wild as London never sleeps and lives and Breathes Football Get a PR to take care of yourselves before it gets Crazy Best of Luck the Wiz on your Side

go on bale welsh magic

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Bale you are so fucking awsome

i know i am rm(realmadrid) fan

The DNA test results are in… they say that you are a massive twat

gareth bale is the best

Hola Bale es Tomás desde Venezuela, ayer vi tu gol contra el Elche, fue una GOOOOLAAAAAZOOOOO!!!!!

Saw your goal tonight it was brilliant your energy and running skills were great. Congratulations on winning the Copa del Rey. You and Ronaldo are great stars. Xxx

Best in the world

Hello. You are always the best, I love you.Bye Bye

very good no no no im sorry very exllenet

great.bale you are one of my heros.

he is a great free kick taker for totenham and real madrid. he lucky to be with ronaldo.

Your So So so so Goood Gareth .

i found it by accident too by wanting a bioghraphy of bale.

Do you have a twin , if you do is it brodie smith you two look so much alike. GO REAL MADRID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bale is awesome and King of Football he is next CR7

gareth bale is my roll model i love him so much

Hey gareth bale i dont know what to say to you but i really wants to say you that you are the best in the world i really like playing football but when i remember about your whole life experience which i studied i get so much inspiration. i really like ur hair style the best thing is ur game is too gooooood i dont like c.ronaldo because he play with ego which i dont like .

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu

rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

theeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

best in the

wwww ooooo rrrrrrr lllllllllll dddddd………..

Bale is the best and most expensive player in the world

I love BALE

You r awsome dude….the tricks u use and the combination with cr7 is just brillant i don’t have crapy words to express how a crazy fan i m…..play well and live well…

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‘That was the shift to superhero’: Gareth Bale as he reaches 100 Wales caps

Teammates recall the most memorable of the forward’s 99 appearances before landmark match at home to Belarus

Trinidad & Tobago 1-2 Wales , May 2006 (friendly). Cap: one

My first impressions were of a young, very skinny kid who was a bit shy. But you could see that smooth left foot, that speed, that composure and little flash of brilliance. As soon as he had his first touch, coming from a left-back position, he looked up and dribbled and it was almost like: ‘This is where I’m supposed to be.’ In the game he had zero fear. He ended up pulling the ball back for me for his first assist. Robert Earnshaw

Wales 1-5 Slovakia, Oct 2006 (Euro 2008 qualifying). Cap: three

The month before we had played Brazil – Ronaldinho, Kaká, Marcelo and everybody – at White Hart Lane. Ryan Giggs gets a free-kick in the first half in a shooting position and is stood over the ball and Gareth goes over. He wanted it but he also knew: ‘I can’t take this free-kick ahead of Ryan Giggs!’ He conceded Giggs was going to take it and Giggs had a little chuckle just before he took it. Ryan revealed at half-time that Gareth said: ‘Yeah, just don’t hit it too hard.’ We all burst out laughing because he was such a young kid, but that’s him. By now he wasn’t naive any more. He was starting to get a reputation for being really, really good at free-kicks. Every free-kick he was always saying: ‘Can I have it?’ This was his first Wales goal – that it was from a free-kick was fitting. RE

Wales 2-1 Scotland, Oct 2012 (World Cup 2014 qualifying). Cap: 37

That game, definitely, was the shift to the superhero. He did his thing that he did in the [Copa del Rey] final [against Barcelona], where he ran off the pitch and back on, dribbling and collecting the ball on the other side, and in the end they were just trying to wrestle him down. But he was too strong, too fast, could jump higher than everyone else and could do things that no one else could do. We’d known Gaz for years and he was a good player but just another one of us – but at that moment he started to turn into something completely different. It was like seeing someone grow into their superpowers. Ashley Williams

Andorra 1-2 Wales, Sept 2014 (Euro 2016 qualifying). Cap: 45

It was the first game of the campaign and we thought it was a great fixture. But we were on that artificial pitch, which is terrible, and conceded a penalty. Gaz equalised before half-time but we struggled and then we got the free-kick with 10 minutes to go. Gaz hit the wall but got to retake it and I knew he would score. The celebrations were amazing; the fans spilled on to the pitch. There was great relief. It was the first time we felt that we could qualify, really and truthfully. AW

Israel 0-3 Wales, Mar 2015 (Euro 2016 qualifying). Cap: 49

Aaron Ramsey scored a looping header and Bale made it 2-0 with a free-kick from the right. He whipped it and one of the Israel players [Bibars Natcho] was scrambling to block it, trying, as you would do on Fifa, to get on the line. It was literally like a video game. There were so many big moments building up to the Euros where Gaz won games singlehandedly. He has changed Wales. The respect we have gained as a nation is thoroughly down to him being an unbelievable talent. Jonny Williams

Wales 1-0 Belgium, June 2015 (Euro 2016 qualifying). Cap: 50

That one is the one for me, a huge moment in qualifying for the Euros. Belgium arrived with their superstars and if there was a man to pop up with a goal for the occasion … the stadium erupted. It was a great finish, through [Thibaut] Courtois’s legs from a tight angle. That was the game where we thought we were going to achieve something special. That team we had for those two or three years, the back of [Gary] Speed’s [tenure] and through to Coleman, was an unbelievable group. I had to up my game because I knew I was playing with Bale and Ramsey. They made you believe in yourself as well. JW

Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 Wales, Oct 2015 (Euro 2016 qualifying). Cap: 53

I remember walking off and the manager [Coleman] was storming down the tunnel raging. It was not until one of the staff went over and said, ‘We’ve actually qualified’ that he did a U-turn and we went and celebrated with the fans. Gareth leads by example. We would finish training and in a squad of 23 he would have 22 lads behind him watching him take free-kicks for 10 or 15 minutes. I remember training alongside him in France and sometimes it was like he was training with schoolkids and we were taking part in his session. Sam Vokes

Wales 2-1 Slovakia, June 2016 (Euro 2016). Cap: 56

Any time we had a free-kick in the opposition half it was near enough a penalty; we felt it was like a 75% chance we were going to score. We devised a plan that James Chester and myself would be on the end of the wall to block the keeper a bit. Gaz would aim at us, we would move and it worked perfectly here, as it did so many times. Once you’ve got that first goal in the tournament, that first win, that’s off your back. What a strike it was. AW

China 0-6 Wales, Mar 2018 (China Cup). Cap: 69

He broke Ian Rush’s [goalscoring] record. We were used to being around him but they are mad for it in China so there were roadblocks everywhere in Nanning and the hotel reception was rammed at all times. We couldn’t go anywhere with him without it being completely choc-a-bloc. It was a fun trip actually. There was nothing to do so we’d sit and play Uno for hours. Gaz was involved. I think I was the champ, Sam Vokes second and Chris Gunter bottom. AW

Wales 2-0 Hungary, Nov 2019 (Euro 2020 qualifying). Cap: 83

Gareth does not necessarily need to score to contribute. His passing is unbelievable and this game was a case of having nine players supporting two world-class players in Bale and Ramsey. When you need it most, they turn up and produce the goods. That night they were on a different planet. Gareth has an aura because of what he has achieved but he is very down to earth, humble and is almost like a little kid in terms of his banter – he is always messing about. One of my first camps, I went out of the hotel door and him and Wayne Hennessey are putting golf balls in the corridor. It reminds you that every footballer is human, whether you’re a millionaire superstar or further down the ladder. Gareth genuinely enjoys coming to play for Wales. He just enjoys his life without getting too hung up on the serious aspect of it. Joe Morrell

Belarus 2-3 Wales, Sep 2021 (World Cup 2022 qualifying). Cap: 98

For someone who has achieved so much, you could still see what it meant to him to score a hat-trick for his country and, more importantly for him, to get the three points. If he does not score or assist, he is just as happy if the team win. Some players aren’t like that and that’s what makes him extra special. He goes round and gets his ball signed by the whole team, whether that person has played for Wales before or not – he makes sure everyone is involved. JW

• Gareth Bale

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Gareth Bale retirement is the end of a Wales era – his story will be told for generations

This is an updated version of an article originally published on November 28, 2022.

Gareth Bale’s answer at the time was brief to say the least.

“Nope,” he replied when asked whether Wales’ final World Cup group match against England in Qatar, when they were facing elimination after drawing with the United States and losing to Iran , could be his last appearance for his country.

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Twenty-four hours later, after Wales were beaten 3-0 on a sobering night that saw Bale withdrawn at half-time, the message was not dissimilar. He vowed to “keep going” for as long as he was wanted.

Deep down however, some doubted whether that would really be the case.

Bale, who produced so many magical moments for Wales over the years and will rightly go down as their greatest footballer, had been a shadow of his old self at the World Cup and it was hard to see how he would find the motivation to carry on playing.

At the age of 33, the passage of time, including a difficult last couple of seasons at club level, where Bale didn’t play nearly enough football, had caught up with him. He was no longer able to perform at anywhere near his best — at one stage in his career, Bale was arguably behind only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the list of the game’s finest players — and, realistically, there was nothing left to achieve having got Wales to a first World Cup since 1958.

That was the theory and it’s also now the reality — confirmed in a statement Bale released on Monday, announcing his retirement from all football.

Although he achieved spectacular success at club level, where he won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid and was the most expensive footballer in the world following his £85million ($104m) move from Tottenham Hotspur to the Bernabeu in 2013, there was always something special about Bale’s relationship with his country.

“The fortune of being Welsh, and being selected to play for and captain Wales, has given me something incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced,” Bale writes in his retirement statement. “I shared a dressing room with boys that became brothers, and backroom staff that became family. I played for the most incredible managers, and felt the undying support and love from the most dedicated fans in the world.”

It was an emotional farewell and marks the end of an era for Welsh football.

The fact Bale played for his country 111 times, making him their most-capped men’s player, and scored 41 goals, surpassing the record previously held by Ian Rush, only tells part of his story — a story that will be retold in Wales for generations to come.

Viva, Gareth Bale.

If the rest of the Wales players had got their way, Bale would have quit Real Madrid long before he did, put his hand in his pocket and signed each and every one of them for Merthyr Tydfil.

“They joked during the Euros that they wanted Gareth to buy a Welsh club lower down,” Osian Roberts, the former Wales assistant manager, tells The Athleti c. “It was Merthyr (who play in the seventh tier of the English league system), actually. Everyone would sign for him and take them all the way through the pyramid to the Premier League , so they could all play together every week. That’s how close they were — they didn’t want to just do it during the international breaks, they wanted to be together every day of the week.”

Chris Gunter breaks into laughter when told about Roberts’ comments.

“We would still say it now!” says Gunter, who played alongside Bale for Wales for 14 years. “We used to joke quite a lot about that. Gaz would have been the one who would have had to buy it for obvious reasons, with his salary.

“We used to say it was so easy with Wales because everybody was on the same page — there were no agendas, and that’s where it came from. And we always used to say that we wouldn’t have been a bad team either.

“But that was the sense, that if we could have stayed together in a group in a club environment, I dare say we would have enjoyed football even more than what we have now.”

Bale embodies the brotherhood — a word Roberts uses to describe the togetherness the late Gary Speed set about trying to create when he took over as manager in 2010 — at the heart of the Wales squad. His game evolved and his position changed over time, but he was always in his element playing for Wales.

“Cut him in half and dragons fall out,” Gwyn Morris, Bale’s former physical education teacher at Whitchurch High School in Cardiff, tells The Athletic . “The love that people have for Gareth when he plays… he cannot do any wrong. The fact he has so many caps for Wales just shows how dedicated he has been to representing Wales. And it’s rubbing off on a lot of players, especially the younger generation — these guys don’t miss Wales games anymore, they don’t pick and choose, they want to be in camp.”

When Bale spoke during the 2016 European Championship about Wales footballers having more pride and passion than their England counterparts prior to the group game between the two sides, he had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. It felt mischievous and provocative. But, make no mistake, Bale was deadly serious.

His connection with his country is deep and emotive, and it is easy to picture the scene that his agent Jonathan Barnett described when he first got together with Bale at the age of 15 and talked about whether the teenager was going to play for England, where one of his grandparents was born, or Wales. “I nearly got my head bitten off by his dad, who is fanatically Welsh, and his mum,” Barnett said.

Wales meant everything to Bale — more than golf or Real Madrid ever did (more about that later) — and that goes some way to explaining why leading his country in Qatar, the nation’s first appearance at a World Cup in 64 years, was such a significant moment for him, even if the storyline didn’t go to plan.

“It’s what’s been driving him to keep playing,” David Vaughan, the player Bale replaced when he made his international debut as a 16-year-old in 2006, told The Athletic before the World Cup. “I’m not saying he’s not giving his all for where he is at the moment ( Los Angeles FC in MLS , who he helped win the league title earlier this month). But Wales is his passion and motivation, for sure.”

Vaughan turned out to be spot on in that respect.

Despite Bale’s success at club level over the years, there was always a feeling that playing for Wales gave him the most enjoyment. Perhaps more fulfilment, too, bearing in mind how long Welsh football had spent in the wilderness.

But maybe playing for Wales was good for Bale, too, especially when his relationship with Real Madrid turned sour. He often looked liberated when he returned home and pulled on that red shirt.

“You would probably say that it was a bit of a release for him,” Roberts adds. “Only he can answer that. But certainly, you felt that every time (with Wales) he was happy, he was content. He was in an environment where he felt safe.”

Gunter agrees. “He would have felt he was trusted when he came back to play for Wales,” he says. “There was no other noise of whether he was playing well or not. He had the trust of everyone in terms of his team-mates, the staff, the supporters and the media. So he didn’t have to deal with anything else. So he probably would have seen that as coming home.”

The story that Roberts tells about Bale regularly choosing to stay over with the rest of the squad following Wales away matches, and being one of the last to leave the following morning, rather than jumping on a private jet straight back to Spain, can be interpreted in different ways.

For Roberts, it was a simple case of Bale sending the right message to the other Wales players and the staff. “He wasn’t one that wanted special attention. He just wanted to be part of the group, dealt with and treated exactly the same,” Roberts explains.

Admittedly, that was easier said than done at times. Sam Vokes paints an amusing picture as he describes the scene when the Wales players left the team hotel during a trip to China in 2018. “There would be two or three security guards with us, all around Gareth, and 22 of us somewhere else,” the former Wales striker tells The Athletic , laughing.

“But Gareth’s so down to earth. If he didn’t have a pack of Uno cards in his hand, it would probably be a putter — putting up and down the hallways. Every time you tried to step out of your hotel room, there was usually a stray ball from Gareth or Wayne (Hennessey, Wales’ long-serving goalkeeper).”

Yet Bale had another side to him, too.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Robert Earnshaw, the former Wales striker, tells The Athletic . “He’s very relaxed, he’s very easy-going. But Gareth Bale knows who he is — he knows he’s a superstar. That plays into him being confident enough to say, ‘Give me the ball, give me that free kick. We’re facing England? No problem, I’ve got you guys. I know the pressure is on me, it’s OK, I’ll be ready’.”

For all the stories about the camaraderie within the Wales squad and the fun and laughter that the players had whenever they reported for international duty, Roberts is quick to point out that Bale “wasn’t coming to camp for an easy ride”.

“I remember once he complained that we hadn’t trained hard enough,” Roberts says. “He complained in a constructive manner on the pitch. I said, ‘No, Gareth, let’s keep the energy in your legs for the game’. He said, ‘I’ve got to take it out of my legs first before putting it back in’. He didn’t feel that physically he was doing enough that was going to prepare him properly for the game, which was a great point.”

On another occasion, Bale approached Chris Coleman, Wales’ manager at the time, and Roberts before a crucial Euro 2016 qualifier in Israel, where a new formation was to be used. Coleman intended to play with a box midfield that featured Bale and Aaron Ramsey as two No 10s. Bale wasn’t captain — centre-back Ashley Williams wore the armband — but his leadership shone through.

“The feedback quickly came back to me and Chris that the players weren’t sure and Gareth led that in terms of asking, ‘Why are we doing this?’,” Roberts recalls. “There was a genuine concern. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t be asking any questions. But they took responsibility for their performances and therefore had to believe in what they were doing before they could carry it out. So we had to have a follow-up meeting and start by saying, ‘We gather that the feedback is that you’re not so sure’.”

Once Bale and his team-mates knew why they were playing that system, and not just what it would look like and how it would work, everybody was on board. A couple of days later, they all got their reward — the box midfield worked perfectly as Bale scored twice and Ramsey got the other in an outstanding 3-0 victory.

At the Euros the following year, it was Bale who knocked on the staff room door, in the wake of that last-minute 2-1 group stage defeat against England, to say that the players wanted to stay together the next day, rather than be given time off away from the group to catch up with families, which was Coleman’s original plan. “Gareth came in and said, ‘We win together and lose together, so we don’t want anyone going on their own or doing their own thing’,” Roberts recalls.

Bale was in his prime at that stage of his international career. His contribution during the Euro 2016 qualification — he scored seven of Wales’ 11 goals and assisted another two — was huge and, at times, jaw-dropping. “He’d just glide past players,” Vaughan adds. “Even the opposition would be looking at each other and saying ‘Wow’. Or if you were on the bench, you’d hear their subs talking about him. He was just on another level.”

“He was able to replicate what he was doing for his club in a national shirt,” Roberts adds. “We’ve had top, top players at club level in the past and we’ve not quite got them to, perhaps, perform or to be able to be as effective in the Wales team. Credit to the players around Gareth, of course, but also to him for the way he went about building that team. The goals he scored were incredible.”

Although Bale always pushed back strongly on any talk of Wales being a one-man team — “Together Stronger” was much more than a marketing slogan from his point of view — he was a game-changer for his country, capable of producing goals out of nothing and almost single-handedly winning matches.

“I don’t want to say that you expected it, because you don’t want to rely on it… but we kind of did,” Vokes says. “There was this kind of mentality where you’d think, ‘Stay in games and Gareth will win it for us.’”

Gunter nods. “There wasn’t a plan, but you would always feel as a player, whether you would admit it or not, at any one time he could do something to completely flip the game — and there were times when he did.”

That narrative took hold on the back of Scotland’s visit, in a World Cup qualifier, in October 2012.

With Wales losing 1-0 with nine minutes remaining, Bale won and converted a penalty, then scored an outrageous 89th-minute winner from 30 yards. “I was on the bench at that moment, sat right behind it, and that was one of the sweetest strikes of a football I’ve seen,” Vokes adds.

Highlights of Bale’s outstanding performance in that Scotland match were doing the rounds on Twitter in October, marking the fact it was a decade ago. Gunter played that night but says it was only when he recently rewatched the footage that he realised the way Bale was playing at the time “wasn’t normal”.

Everything seemed so easy for Bale back then, so much so that he could have been forgiven for thinking that qualification for a major tournament was in his hands. Did he have that level of self-awareness? “I think especially for Wales it might have dawned on him that he was the player that could make the difference for us, and become almost immortal really, a superhero figure,” Vaughan says.

Eighteen months after the Scotland game, Wales took on Iceland at home; Bale was irrepressible. “That’s the one,” Gunter says, his eyes lighting up at the memory of Bale’s extraordinary goal. “If you were to ask me what it was like (when Bale was at his peak), if I could get one clip, it would be that one.”

Showing an incredible burst of pace, Bale ran off the pitch and back on again to avoid Solvi Jonsson’s cynical attempt to bring him down, before cutting inside another Iceland player and curling the ball into the bottom corner. “A surreal moment,” adds Vokes.

In Vokes’ eyes, Bale was at his “all-time best” at Euro 2016, where he scored in all three group games as Wales, having never qualified for the European Championship before, reached the semi-finals. Vokes remembers how all the squad would walk over at the end of training to watch Bale work on his free kicks.

Wales' Euro 2016 magic: The stories you've not heard before, told by those who were there

“I can picture it, and I used to enjoy it so much,” he says. “You would almost be in awe of him. He’s got no ego at all, which is one of the best things about Gareth — he’s a mate as much as he’s a team-mate. But he’s also a superstar.”

A superstar who never allowed the disparity in ability between himself and some of his team-mates — Bale regularly lined up alongside internationals who played their club football in the Championship, English football’s second tier — to become a source of frustration.

“You see it every week on TV when players are throwing their arms around. I’ve never once seen that with him,” Gunter adds.

“I don’t think anyone would ever say, even newer or younger players that would not have known him on a personal level, that he’s made them feel uncomfortable or you have to gain his approval, or you wonder what he’s thinking of you. He just treats everybody the same and it’s no coincidence, then, that when younger players come into the squad, they seem to settle quickly.”

“WALES. GOLF. MADRID. IN THAT ORDER.”

“Paul Harris, the masseur, went to get it,” Gunter says.

Gunter is talking about the flag that found its way onto the pitch on a November evening in Cardiff in 2019. Predrag Mijatovic, the former Real Madrid player and sporting director, had coined the phrase by suggesting on a radio show one night that Bale’s priorities were Wales, golf, and Madrid — in that order.

The Wales fans turned it into a song, one supporter got the words printed onto a Welsh flag, and the next thing you know Bale is dancing behind it, alongside all his team-mates, complete with huge grins on their faces, as they celebrated Euro 2020 qualification.

Not surprisingly, the media in Madrid had a field day.

“That was a bit of a claim to fame for me — it’s the first time I’ve ever made it onto the front page of a Spanish newspaper!” says Vokes, who is standing on the right next to Bale in the photo that went viral.

“It was a bit of fun,” continues Vokes, smiling. “The ramifications of what came from it over in Spain… I’m sure I can see why from their point of view. But for us, or Gareth, it was very innocently done. It was quite a funny moment.”

Gunter is in the photo, too.

“That was probably towards the point where a lot of stuff was being said and written, an agenda created, and it probably got to… not that we’ve ever really spoken about it, but my opinion would be that it was almost at the point where he (Bale) didn’t really care what the fall-out was going to be because whatever happened, something would have been shaped in a certain way anyway.

“That ‘Wales. Golf. Madrid’ thing was already a topic of conversation in Spain anyway.”

Bale’s club career was drifting at that point, and internationally the goals had started to dry up, too — he went 16 Wales matches without scoring before a hat-trick against Belarus in September 2021.

By the time the single-leg World Cup play-off semi-final against Austria came around last March, questions were being asked about what sort of performance Bale could be expected to deliver, given that he had played less than two hours for Real Madrid across the previous six months.

The answer was emphatic as Bale scored two goals of the highest quality in a 2-1 victory. “Even at this stage, where people are talking about his age or saying that he’s a different player, the outcome is still the same,” Gunter adds.

“That game (against Austria) is no different to the ones like Cyprus away (in the Euro 2016 qualification campaign) where he scored the header. It’s a tight game, he jumps ridiculously high to win the header, we win 1-0 and it’s an amazing Welsh performance. If he’s not on the pitch, we probably draw 0-0 and it’s disappointing. It was the same in that game in March.

“All the talk before was that he hadn’t been playing for so long. But I think special things happen to the top one per cent of sports people — they deliver at times when others don’t.”

The end result is that Welsh football is in a totally different place on and off the pitch.

Roberts smiles when he thinks back to how Neil Taylor, then Wales’ first-choice left-back, would always play a game when the team bus pulled through the gates for a home match. “He would be counting how many people would be outside the Cardiff City Stadium waiting for us when we arrived,” Roberts says. “‘We’ve got nine, 10… 11 today, lads!’.”

Selling out home games would have been unthinkable back then. Now it feels like the norm.

After going more than 50 years without appearing at a major tournament, stretching way back to 1958, Wales qualified for successive European Championships and a World Cup during Bale’s time. It has been a golden age for Welsh football in that respect and Bale’s part in it is impossible to overstate.

“You wouldn’t link it to one thing or to one person,” says Gunter, who is the most-capped Wales player in history. “But if you were ever thinking about the things that have got us to this point now, Gareth Bale would be at the forefront.

“It’s not just Gareth who has changed Welsh football and got it to where it is now. But in terms of on the pitch, if you had to put it down to one person, it would only ever be him.”

(Main graphic — photos: Getty Images/Design: Sam Richardson)

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A former professional footballer with Swindon Town, Stuart James went onto spend 15 years working for The Guardian, where he reported on far too many relegation battles to mention, one miraculous Premier League title triumph and a couple of World Cups. He joined The Athletic as a Senior Writer in 2019. Follow Stuart on Twitter @ stujames75

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Bale retires at 33 with 5 CL titles, many Wales memories

FILE - Wales’ Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring his side’s opening goal during the World Cup, group B soccer match between the United States and Wales, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. “My decision to retire from International football has been by far the hardest of my career,” Bale said in a statement Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.(AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)

FILE - Wales’ Gareth Bale takes a shot during the World Cup 2022 playoff soccer match between Wales and Austria at Cardiff City stadium, in Cardiff, Britain, Thursday, March 24, 2022. Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. “My decision to retire from International football has been by far the hardest of my career,” Bale said in a statement Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

FILE - Wales’ Gareth Bale runs during the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Wales, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan , Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Gareth Bale is retiring from soccer at age 33 after setting a Wales record with 41 international goals. “My decision to retire from International football has been by far the hardest of my career,” Bale said in a statement Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Fil)

FILE - Southampton’s Gareth Bale, left, gets away from Manchester City Hatem Trabelsi, centre, and Ousmane Dabo, right, during their FA Cup fourth round soccer match at the City of Manchester stadium, Manchester, England, Sunday Jan. 28, 2007. Bale has announced on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, his retirement from soccer at age 33. He scored 53 Premier Leagues goals and 81 in La Liga, finishing last season by helping Los Angeles win the Major League Soccer title. Bale won five Champions League titles, three Spanish league titles, one Copa del Rey and one League Cup. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)

FILE - Tottenham Hotspurs Gareth Bale gestures during their English Premier League soccer match against Stoke City at the Britannia stadium, Stoke, England, Saturday Aug. 21, 2010. Bale has announced on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, his retirement from soccer at age 33. He scored 53 Premier Leagues goals and 81 in La Liga, finishing last season by helping Los Angeles win the Major League Soccer title. Bale won five Champions League titles, three Spanish league titles, one Copa del Rey and one League Cup (AP Photo/Simon Dawson, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Ricardo Carvalho from Portugal, second left, vies for the ball with Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale of Wales, centre, during their quarter final, 1st leg Champions League soccer match at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Tuesday April 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

FILE - Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring against Reading during their English Premier League soccer match at the Madjeski stadium, Reading, England, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Tom Hevezil, File)

FILE - Tottenham Hotspur’s Gareth Bale, second right, attempts an overhead kick during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur at Upton Park stadium in London, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale from Wales celebrates scoring against Villarreal during their La Liga soccer match at the Madrigal stadium in Villarreal, Spain, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz, File)

FILE - Real’s Gareth Bale, left, and Luka Modric celebrate with the trophy at the end of the final of the Copa del Rey between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Real defeated Barcelona 2-1. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal in the Champions League final soccer match against Atletico Madrid at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, May 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Real’s Gareth Bale, right scores his side’s 2nd goal, during the Champions League final soccer match between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid, at the Luz stadium, in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, May 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s second goal in the Champions League final soccer match against Atletico Madrid at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, May 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Real’s Gareth Bale, lifts the Champion League trophy on his head, after the Champions League final soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, May 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, centre, lifts the trophy after beating Sevilla 2-0 during the UEFA Super Cup soccer match between Read Madrid and Sevilla at Cardiff City Stadium in Wales Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale walks with the trophy after winning the UEFA Super Cup soccer match between Real Madrid and Sevilla in Cardiff City Stadium, in Cardiff, Wales, Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

FILE - Real Madrid Gareth Bale, reacts during a Spanish Super Cup soccer match against Atletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid, Spain, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale heads the ball to score the opening goal against Real Betis during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates with teammates at the end of a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Malaga and Real Madrid in Malaga, Spain, Sunday, May 21, 2017. Real Madrid wins the Spanish league for the first time in five years, avoiding its biggest title drought since the 1980s. (AP Photo/Daniel Tejedor, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale kisses the trophy after the Champions League final soccer match between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Saturday, May 28, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale heads the ball during the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale, left, scores his side’s 2nd goal during the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates with the trophy after winning the Champions League Final soccer match between Real Madrid and Liverpool at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, May 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale celebrates after scoring his side’s 3rd goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale attends a training session ahead of the Champions League final soccer match against Liverpool, at the Stade de France in Saint Denis near Paris, Friday, May 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

FILE - Los Angeles FC forward Gareth Bale (11) celebrates after defeating the Philadelphia Union in penalties to win the MLS Cup soccer match Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, in Los Angeles. Bale has announced on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, his retirement from soccer at age 33. He scored 53 Premier Leagues goals and 81 in La Liga, finishing last season by helping Los Angeles win the Major League Soccer title. Bale won five Champions League titles, three Spanish league titles, one Copa del Rey and one League Cup. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

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Gareth Bale announced his retirement from soccer on Monday at the age of 33, ending the career of one of Britain’s greatest players after winning five Champions League titles and finally getting to play in a World Cup for Wales.

Bale was once the world’s most expensive player when he joined Real Madrid for $132 million in 2013 and, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, was a devastating forward capable of surging runs and brilliant goals with his powerful left foot.

He was a European champion with Madrid in 2014, ‘16, ’17, ’18 and last year, before finishing his club career by helping Los Angeles FC win the Major League Soccer title.

Affected by injuries in recent years, he ended his career saving the best performances for his country, for whom he played a record 111 matches and scored a record 41 times.

Key to qualifying Wales for its first World Cup in 64 years, Bale scored in the group stage in Qatar — a penalty against the United States — and his last match was a 3-0 loss to England on Nov. 29.

Bale said his decision to retire from international soccer was “by far the hardest of my career.”

“My journey on the international stage is one that has changed not only my life but who I am,” Bale said in a statement. “The fortune of being Welsh and being selected to play for and captain Wales, has given me something incomparable to anything else I’ve experienced.

“I am honored and humbled to have been able to play a part in the history of this incredible country, to have felt the support and passion of the red wall, and together have been to unexpected and amazing places.”

Bale started out as a left back for Southampton, moved to Tottenham in 2007 for a six-year spell, and had another year at Spurs in the 2020-21 season on loan from Madrid.

He scored 53 Premier League goals and 81 in La Liga. He won three Spanish league titles, one Copa del Rey and one English League Cup title.

Only one player — former Real Madrid star Paco Gento — won more European Cup/Champions League titles than Bale.

“I move on with anticipation to the next step in my life,” Bale said . “An opportunity for a new adventure.”

Madrid called Bale a “legend of our club and world football.”

“Gareth Bale has been part of our team in one of the most successful stages in our history and forever represents many of the brightest moments of the last decade,” the Spanish club said. Madrid referred specifically to his go-ahead goals in the 2014 and ‘18 Champions League finals and his solo goal against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final in 2014 when he sprinted down the left wing, even outside the field through the coaches’ technical areas.

However, there is a slight sense that his career is unfulfilled given the way his time at Madrid petered out after scoring twice — including a flying volley — in the win over Liverpool in the Champions League final in 2018.

Injuries and a breakdown in his relationship with former Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane led to Bale becoming a peripheral figure in the Spanish capital. He appeared to lack the motivation to play for Madrid but was always ready to go to great lengths to play for his beloved Wales.

While celebrating a win that qualified his country for the 2020 European Championship, Bale held up a Welsh flag with the words “Wales. Golf. Madrid. In That Order” written on it.

He was at his best for Wales when helping the team reach the Euro 2016 semifinals unexpectedly, memorably beating fancied Belgium in the quarterfinals before losing to Portugal.

Bale, who made his Wales debut in May 2006 in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago, broke the previous Wales record of 28 goals set by Ian Rush. He has won Wales’ player of the year award six times.

“How do I describe what being a part of this country and team means to me? How do I articulate the impact it has had on my life? How do I put in to words the way I felt, every single time I put on that Welsh shirt?” Bale said. “My answer is that I couldn’t possibly do any of those things justice, simply with words.

“But I know that every person involved in Welsh football, feels the magic, and is impacted in such a powerful and unique way, so I know you feel what I feel, without using any words at all.”

Praising Bale’s impact, Wales said: “The term ‘legend’ is overused in the modern game, but there are few players as deserving of that accolade than Bale for the crucial part he has played in revolutionizing the image of the national team off the field and delivering success on it.”

He joined Los Angeles from Madrid in June, when his contract at Madrid expired, and helped his new team win the MLS championship, scoring a 128th-minute equalizer in the final. LA went on to beat Philadelphia on penalty kicks.

Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

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Gareth Bale Biography Facts, Childhood, Career, Net Worth, Life

Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a sensational professional football player from Wales who rose from obscurity to become one of the most successful players in the world. Bale is known for his amazing speed and intense physical style of play. The Welsh soccer star who plays for the Wales national team and Spanish side Real Madrid has had a phenomenal career, which has seen him lift several trophies, one of which is the UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup. We take a look at Gareth Bale’s biography facts, childhood, career, personal life and net worth.

In recent times, Bale has been involved in a feud with Los Blancos Coach, Zinedine Zidane, but this has not affected his incredible performance. Though not exactly a fan favourite at the moment, Gareth Bale’s success in football can not be overlooked as he is one of the most talented and loved footballers on the planet.

Table of Contents

Gareth Bale Biography Facts, Age, Info

Gareth bale childhood, early life, junior/youth career.

Born in Cardiff on 16 July 1989, Bale was raised by his father, Frank Bale who worked as a school caretaker and his mother, Debby Bale who was an operations manager. As a young boy, Bale idolised ex-Manchester United player, Ryan Giggs.

While Bale attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School, he joined a football club, Cardiff Civil Service. While playing for the team, Bale’s football skill caught the attention of Southampton scouts. After concluding his primary education, Bale went on to Whitchurch High School where he was also actively involved in football. Bale was so skilful that his Physical Education teacher had a to write bye rules that restricted a very talented Bale from dribbling and playing with his left leg.

While his skill was so good, that it was certain Southampton will sign him, Bale’s height was a challenge which made much doubt if he’ll be signed. Bale continued playing football, leading his school U-18 side to Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup at just the age of 16.

Gareth Bale Professional Football Career, Profile & Stats

Southampton (2006–2007).

After debuting for Southampton in April 2006, Bale became the second-youngest player to play for the English side. Months later, Bale scored his first goal for the club. As he continued to play for Southampton, Bale began revealing to the world is a knack for converting free kicks. His performance on the pitch did not go unnoticed, as he was awarded  BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year, 8 months after his debut. In March 2007, Bale was awarded the Football League Young Player of the Year. After playing 45 games for Southampton, Bale sought to leave the club.

Tottenham Hotspur (2007–2013)

In May 2007, young Bale signed a four-year contract with EPL club Tottenham Hotspurs. In August 2007, he made his competitive debut for the club against Manchester United. Days later, Bale scored his first goal for the club. In four starts, 18-year-old Bale had scored three goals, a commendable feat for the budding star. Bale’s incredible performance was cut short by an injury in December 2007. It was revealed he had a damaged ligament in his right ankle. As a result, Bale had to undergo exploratory surgery. Bale did not return to action until toward the end of the season, in a League Cup match against Manchester United.

In August 2008, Bale signed a four-year contract with Tottenham. He once again experienced injuries, which saw him miss the remainder of the 2008/09 season. In June 2009, Bale had surgery again but returned to action in September. All through the season, Bale continued in good form, which earned his first EPL Player of the Month honour in April 2010. The next month Bale signed a new four-year contract with the Spur after leading them to a top-four finish in the League table.

Bale continued to play amazingly well, winning the BBC Goal of the Month in August 2010. His performance helped him established his position as a starting eleven. In September 2010, Bale scored his first Champions League goal. His top form made the Football Association of Wales award him the Welsh Player of the Year award. In October 2010, Bale scored his first hat trick in the Champions League against Inter Milan who was the European champions. In the second leg of the Champions League match, Bale’s performance earned the Man of the Match honour. Bale’s incredible performance earned him the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year trophy in December 2010. At the conclusion of the season, he was awarded the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award.

At the commencement of the 2011/12 season, Bale was the centre of international media. Bale continued with his top form in the 2011/12 season. As a result, he was named to the UEFA Team of the Year and won the EPL Player of the Month for the second time in his career. In June 2012, he signed a four-year contract extension with the Spurs. 

At the start of the 2012/13 season, Bale switched number from 3 to 11. During the season, he grabbed his first EPL hat trick, he also solidified his reputation as an expert free-kick taker after he scored two goals from free-kicks in a Europa League game against Olympique Lyonnais. His top performance was rewarded by EPL Player of the Month for February and BBC Goal of the Month for January and February for his incredible strikes. Bale ended the season by winning the Young Player of the Year and PFA Player of the Year award. He also won the FWA Footballer of the Year Award, thus becoming the second player to win all three awards in a season.

Real Madrid (2013–date)

In September 2013, Bale shocked the world after it was announced that he signed a six-year contract with the Spanish club, Real Madrid for €91 million. The British media reported the transfer sum was  €100 million, a world transfer sum. In 2016, documents leaked confirmed the transfer sum to be €100.8 million, which was a world record amount, which was broken by Paul Pogba in August 2016. Bale start for Los Blanco’s was marred by injuries. Though he scored in his debut, he missed five of his first 16 games for the Laliga Giants.

After scoring in the 2014 UEFA Champions League final, he became first Wales national to score in a Champions League final. During the season, he established himself in Madrid’s squad by forming a formidable attacking trio with Benzema and Ronaldo. The 2014/15 season started for Bale with a UEFA Super Cup win. His good form during the season was cut short by a calf injury. Following the arrival of Zinedine Zidane at Santiago Bernabeu, Bale form improved. By the time the team progressed to the UEFA Champions League final which they won, Bale had cemented his position as a starting eleven in the team line up.

In October 2016, Bale signed a contract extension with Madrid which will see him stay at the club till 2022. After injuring the tendons in his ankle in November 2016, Bale was set to be on the sidelines for four months. In April 2017, Bale recorded his 100 caps for Madrid but was forced out of action again as a result of an injury. Madrid went on to win the Laliga, and after a month recuperating from injury, Bale returned to help Madrid win the 2017 UEFA Champions League final.

In the 2017/18 season, Bale’s goalscoring record improved significantly. He was instrumental in Madrid’s win in the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In the 2018 UEFA Champions League final, Bale scored an astounding overhead goal, which earned him the man of the match award.

Following the departure of Ronaldo from Madrid, and head coach Zinedine Zidane, Bale’s place in the team became very important. He scored a hat trick in the Club World Final, the third player to achieve the feat. Bale was thus awarded the golden boot. In 2019, Bale initiated a transfer to Chinese club, Jiangsu Suning, but the deal never went through. In October 2019, rumours emerged concerning Bale’s proposed move to depart from Madrid. In November 2019, Bale continued to play despite the rumours of his proposed move.

Gareth Bale International/National Team Career

At the age of 16, Bale became one of the youngest players to play for the Wales national senior team. Though Bale was eligible to play for England, he stated he’ll never play for England. He has played for Wales in the European 2005 qualifier, 2014 World Cup qualifier, the Euro 2016 qualifier, the Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup qualifier. Bale is Wales all-time highest goal scorer.

Gareth Bale Net Worth, Endorsements & Salary/Wage

Bale is one of the top-10 richest footballers and top-10 highest-paid footballers on the planet with a net worth valued at $125 million. He has endorsement deals with Adidas, Konami and Wish. Bale has a 60% stake in a company, Primesure Limited, which manages his affairs. He also owns a sports bar in Cardiff, named Elevens Bar & Grills. As of 2019, Bale currently earns a yearly salary of €15 million EUR.

Gareth Bale Family and Personal Life

Bale is engaged to his high school sweetheart, Emma Rhys-Jones. They got engaged in 2016. The couple has 3 kids, Alba Violet born in 2012, Nava Valentina born in 2016 and Alex Charles born in 2018.

Bale abstains from alcohol and a fan of the sport, golf.

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Gareth Bale

• Date of birth/Age: Jul 16, 1989 (34)

• Height: 1,86 m
• Position: Right Winger

• Caps/Goals: 111 / 40

Player data

Gareth Bale Biography

Gareth Frank Bale, the charismatic Welsh and Real Madrid footballer, is no stranger to the curiosity of fans. As the player with the highest transfer fee in 2016, Bale’s speed and accuracy have made him renowned worldwide. Despite playing alongside top players in one of the biggest football clubs, Bale has carved his own niche and astonished millions with his skills. With an illustrious career spanning over a decade, he has won numerous awards and honors, proving himself as a player for the big matches. Despite the presence of other big names, Bale consistently shines on the field, showcasing his brilliant football talent.

Quick Facts

• Also Known As: Gareth Frank Bale
• Age: 34 Years, 34 Year Old Males
• Spouse/Ex-: Emma Rhys-Jones
• Father: Frank Bale
• Mother: Debbie Bale
• Children: Alba Violet Bale
• Born Country: Wales
• Football Players
• Height: 6’0″ (183 cm), 6’0″ Males
• City: Cardiff, Wales

Childhood & Early Life

Gareth Frank Bale was born on July 16, 1989, in Cardiff, Wales, to Frank and Debbie Bale. His father worked as a caretaker in a local school, while his mother was a local operations manager. Bale attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School in Whitchurch, where he was noticed by scouts from the Southampton football club at the age of nine. After completing his primary education, he enrolled at Whitchurch High School, where he excelled in football, rugby, and hockey. He won the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup and the school award for services to sport before graduating in 2005.

Just a year after finishing high school, Bale joined the Southampton football club in 2006, becoming the second youngest player in the club’s history. He scored his first club goal against Derby County in a 2-2 draw. Bale won the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year while at Southampton and was known for his free kick skills. He represented Southampton in 45 games before being signed by Tottenham Hotspur in a five million pounds deal. Bale made an immediate impact at Tottenham, scoring three goals in his first four matches, including a goal against Arsenal. However, his season was cut short due to a ligament injury on his right ankle.

After recovering from his injury, Bale returned to the field and scored crucial goals for Tottenham against top opponents like Arsenal and Chelsea. He played for Tottenham for three seasons and won several awards, including PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year. In 2013, Bale transferred to Real Madrid for a world record fee of 100.8 million Euros. He impressed his new team and fans with his performances, scoring goals in important matches and helping Real Madrid win titles like the Copa del Rey and the UEFA Champions League.

Bale continued to contribute to Real Madrid’s success in the following seasons, scoring goals and assisting his team. He won several trophies with the club, including the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. In 2019, he scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid in a match against Atlético Madrid. Bale has also been a part of the Wales national football team since 2006 and has represented his country on 79 occasions, scoring 32 goals.

Personal Life & Legacy

Bale is engaged to Emma Rhys-Jones, and the couple has three children together. He has endorsed global companies like Adidas and EA Sports throughout his career and was featured on the cover of FIFA 14 alongside Lionel Messi.

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Bale: The Biography of the 100-Million Man Paperback – March 1, 2014

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The fascinating biography of Tottenham's latest superstar player

He's fast, he's strong, he's an excellent crosser of the ball, and he scores goals—Gareth Bale is one of the most promising young talents in the Premier League, and is regarded as one of Europe's hottest football properties. Born in 1989, Bale first attracted the attention of Southampton FC at the age of just nine. At secondary school, he was such a prodigious talent that his PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to impose special restrictions on him to make it fair for the other pupils. These included playing one-touch football and not using his left foot. After completing his GCSE exams, Bale became the second-youngest player ever to sign for Southampton in April 2008. Despite playing at left-back he scored five goals and was extremely impressive in his first season. The Premier League soon came calling and in 2007 Bale signed a four-year deal with Tottenham. His career at White Hart Lane didn't get off to the best start, as he played in a record 24 games without a win, but in late 2009 he seized his chance to secure a regular place in the first team. Since then he proved to be a first-class footballer, with a stunning hat trick in Tottenham's Europa League tie against Inter Milan at the San Siro, and a man-of-the-match performance in the return leg. Bale has unsurprisingly also made several appearances for Wales, and his talent has been compared to that of the legendary Ryan Giggs.

• Print length 292 pages
• Language English
• Publisher John Blake
• Publication date March 1, 2014
• Dimensions 5 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• ISBN-10 1857826795
• ISBN-13 978-1857826791
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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ John Blake; Updated edition (March 1, 2014)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1857826795
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1857826791
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• #2,671 in Soccer Biographies (Books)
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Page: OSDB - Gareth Bale - Los Angeles FC - Biography

Gareth Bale

Gareth Bale was born July 16, 1989 in Cardiff, Wales. He is a winger in Major League Soccer.

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Tottenham, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more attacking player. Fro...

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in ...

Position: forward

Born: 1989-07-16 (Age: 34) Wales

MLS Debut: July 17, 2022

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back and earning acclaim as a free kick specialist. Bale moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2007, for an eventual £7 million fee. During his time at Tottenham, managerial and tactical shifts saw him transform into a more attacking player. From the 2009–10 season, under the guidance of Harry Redknapp, Bale became an integral part of the team, rising to international attention during the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. In 2011 and 2013 he was named PFA Players' Player of the Year, and was named in the UEFA Team of the Year. In 2013, he was also named PFA Young Player of the Year, the FWA Footballer of the Year and the Premier League Player of the Season. He was nominated to the PFA Team of the Year three times in a row between 2011 and 2013.

Bale was transferred to Real Madrid in 2013 for an undisclosed fee, which was confirmed to be a world record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). Bale helped the club to win the 2013–14 Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League, scoring in both finals. The following season, he won the UEFA Super Cup and scored in a third major final to help the club win the FIFA Club World Cup. Bale experienced a decrease in game time in the following seasons due to continual injuries, although he collected winner's medals in La Liga in 2016–17 and 2019–20, as well as three additional Champions League titles in 2015–16, 2016–17, and 2017–18, among other trophies; he featured in the first and third of the consecutive finals, notably scoring twice – once with an overhead kick – in Real Madrid's 2018 UEFA Champions League Final victory. In 2020–21, he returned to Tottenham on loan, and the following season was his last for Real Madrid, where he collected another league title as well as his fifth Champions League title, despite gaining little playing time.

Bale made his senior international debut for Wales in May 2006, becoming the youngest player at that point to represent Wales. He has since earned over 100 caps and scored 39 international goals, making him Wales' top goalscorer of all time. He was the top scorer for Wales in their successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2016, scoring seven goals; he subsequently represented Wales in the final tournament as they reached the semi-finals, scoring three goals. He later featured for the side at Euro 2020 and was pivotal in Wales' qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, ending a 64-year appearance drought at the World Cup. He has been named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times.

On 27 June 2022, Los Angeles FC announced that they have signed Bale to a 12-month contract using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) with options through 2024. Prior the announcement, Bale announced on his social media that he would be joining the MLS side. He made his debut on 17 July as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 2–1 win at Nashville SC.

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Gareth Bale : the biography

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Gareth Bale facts for kids

Gareth Frank Bale MBE (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger , most notably for Tottenham Hotspur , Real Madrid and Wales . He is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time. He was best known for his explosive pace, athleticism, and powerful strikes from distance.

Bale began his professional career at Southampton , playing at left-back before moving to Tottenham in 2007. From the 2009–10 season, under the guidance of Harry Redknapp , Bale became an integral part of the team and transformed into a winger. He went on to receive several individual honours, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards and three PFA Team of the Year inclusions. In September 2013, Real Madrid signed Bale for a then world-record transfer fee of £85.1 million (€100.8 million). Being part of the subsequent trio dubbed BBC , alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema , Bale helped the club to win the Copa del Rey and the Champions League , scoring in both finals.

Although Bale experienced a decrease in game time from 2015 onwards due to continual injuries, he was amongst the top three nominees for the 2015-16 UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, scored an overhead kick in Real Madrid's 2018 UEFA Champions League Final victory, and was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2018. In 2020–21, he returned to Tottenham on loan, before playing his final season in Madrid. In his nine-year tenure, Bale won 15 trophies, including three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues. He joined MLS club Los Angeles FC in July 2022 before retiring in January 2023, aged 33.

Bale made his senior international debut for Wales in May 2006, becoming the youngest player at that point to represent the nation. He then went on to earn 111 caps and scored 41 international goals, making him Wales' most capped player and top goalscorer of all time . He was the top scorer for Wales in their successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2016 , scoring seven times; he subsequently represented Wales in the final tournament as they reached the semi-finals, scoring three goals. He later featured for the side at Euro 2020 and was pivotal in Wales' qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup , ending a 64-year appearance drought at the World Cup . He was named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times.

Early life and career

Southampton, 2020–2022: loan to tottenham hotspur and departure, los angeles fc and retirement, euro 2016 campaign, euro 2020 campaign, world cup 2022 campaign, great britain, style of play, personal life, endorsements, philanthropy, international.

Bale was born in Cardiff , Wales, to Frank, a school caretaker, and Debbie Bale, an operations manager. He is the nephew of former Cardiff City footballer Chris Pike. He attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School in Whitchurch . It was while at this school that he first came to the attention of Southampton at age nine, when he was playing in a six-a-side tournament with his first club, Cardiff Civil Service. Growing up, his footballing hero was fellow Welshman and Manchester United player Ryan Giggs .

Bale attended Whitchurch High School in Cardiff. He was a keen athlete; he played football alongside future Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton , rugby, hockey and excelled at athletics. As a 14-year-old he says that he ran the 100-metre sprint in 11.4 seconds. Because of his superior footballing skill, the school's PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to write special rules which restricted Bale to playing one-touch football and not using his left foot.

Despite being only 16 at the time, Bale helped the school's under-18 team win the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup. He left school in the summer of 2005 with a Grade A in PE amongst his other GCSE results. In his final year at school, he was awarded the PE department's prize for services to sport. In the presentation, Morris commented:

"Gareth has a fierce determination to succeed and has the character and qualities to achieve his personal goals. He is one of the most unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure to help educate."

Club career

On 17 April 2006, at the age of 16 years and 275 days, Bale became the second youngest player ever to play for Southampton (after Theo Walcott , who was 132 days younger) when he made his debut in the Saints' 2–0 victory against Millwall . On 6 August, Bale scored his first league goal, a free kick, to level the score at 1–1 against Derby County . The final score at Pride Park was 2–2.

He scored again, at St Mary's , against Coventry City in the team's second game of the 2006–07 season with another free kick. Bale further developed his reputation as a threat on free kicks when he struck the post from one against West Bromwich Albion . By 16 December 2006, Bale's goal count had risen to five, thanks to a late equaliser against Sunderland and free kicks away to Hull City and at home to Norwich City .

In December 2006, he won the Carwyn James Award for the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year, and was named the Football League Young Player of the Year on 4 March 2007. This capped what was described in the local press as an "incredible" first full season as a professional footballer in which he was one of the Saints' "most creative players even (though operating) from the left-back position whilst his defending improved immeasurably as the season progressed."

His final game for Southampton was in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final against Derby County on 12 May 2007. Bale suffered an injury during the second half, preventing him from appearing in the second leg. In total, he made 45 appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals.

Tottenham Hotspur

On 25 May 2007, Bale signed a four-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur with the club paying an initial £5 million for the player, potentially rising to £10 million based on appearances and success.

Bale played his first game for Spurs in a friendly against St. Patrick's Athletic on 12 July 2007, but was substituted on the 80th minute with a minor dead leg. He made his competitive debut for Tottenham Hotspur on 26 August away against Manchester United. On 1 September 2007, in his second Spurs appearance, he scored his first goal for the club in a 3–3 draw with Fulham . Bale went on to score against Arsenal in the North London derby from a free kick. He then scored in the League Cup home tie against Middlesbrough .

On 2 December 2007, Bale was substituted after sustaining an injury resulting from a tackle from Fabrice Muamba in the league fixture against Birmingham City . A scan revealed that Bale had suffered ligament damage to his right ankle, consigning him to an extended period on the sidelines. Bale had exploratory surgery on 11 December. By February 2008, it became clear that Bale was to miss the rest of the season through injury. Sporting Director of Tottenham, Damien Comolli said, "Even if the examination reveals that Gareth's foot is stable, the decision has been taken to bring him back slowly to ensure he does not get a repeat of the injury or suffer any further damage. Gareth is obviously disappointed to be sidelined for this length of time but he is still young and we have to do what is best for him in the long run."

Bale returned to fitness in August 2008, the same month he signed a new four-year deal with the club, and went on to make 30 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions that season. He picked up his first career red card in a 2–1 defeat at Stoke City in October 2008. That season he took part in the League Cup final against Manchester United. Bale came off the bench in the 98th minute in extra time with the final result deadlocked at 0–0 resulting in a penalty shoot-out that ended 4–1 to Manchester United.

In June 2009, Bale underwent surgery for a knee injury, ruling him out for over two months. He missed pre-season matches and it was projected that he would miss the first few weeks of the 2009–10 season. On 26 September, he made his comeback as an 85th-minute substitute in Tottenham's 5–0 win over Burnley . This was Bale's first ever involvement in a Premier League win, after not being on the winning side since the Southampton move. However, he struggled to break into the first team, in part thanks to Benoit Assou-Ekotto's good form. When Assou-Ekotto was sidelined with an injury, manager Harry Redknapp decided to give Bale a chance and he impressed in Spurs' FA Cup third-round 4–0 win over Peterborough United . His first victory as a starter in a league game came in the 2–0 win over London rivals Fulham on 26 January 2010.

Bale's good form continued and he was named Player of the Round after helping Spurs to a 3–1 win in the sixth round replay of the FA Cup against Fulham. In April 2010, Bale scored the winning goal in a 2–1 North London derby win against Arsenal, tapping past Manuel Almunia , after a pass from Jermain Defoe . Three days later, Bale scored Tottenham's winning goal with his weaker right foot in a 2–1 victory over league leaders and eventual champions Chelsea and was named man of the match . He was named Premier League Player of the Month for April 2010. He signed a new four-year contract at White Hart Lane on 7 May 2010, as a reward for helping the club reaching a 2010–11 UEFA Champions League qualification place.

On 21 August 2010, Bale scored twice in a 2–1 win at Stoke City, the second of which was a head-high volley into the top right hand corner of the goal. This was later awarded the BBC Goal of the Month for August 2010. On 25 August, Bale set up all four goals to help Spurs overcome Young Boys 4–0 (6–3 agg.) in a Champions League play-off at White Hart Lane. Although Assou-Ekotto had already returned from injury, Bale continued his good form and cemented his place in the starting eleven, with his manager opting him to move to left wing to accommodate Assou-Ekotto at left-back. On 29 September, Bale scored his first Champions League goal for Tottenham in a 4–1 home win against Dutch champions Twente in their second game of the group stages. For his performances, he was named Welsh Player of the Year by the Football Association of Wales (FAW).

On 20 October, Bale scored his first senior hat-trick against European champions Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League. Tottenham lost the match 4–3, having been 4–0 down inside the first 35 minutes and playing with ten men for over 80 minutes of the match after goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes had been sent off in the eighth minute for a professional foul on Inter's Jonathan Biabiany. In the return match at White Hart Lane on 2 November, Bale provided a man-of-the-match performance, setting up goals for Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko to earn Spurs a memorable 3–1 win.

On 4 November, Bale stated that he intended to remain at Tottenham for the remainder of his recently signed four-year contract, despite reported interest from other clubs, then, in December, he was awarded the BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year trophy. On 19 March 2011, it was announced he would then extended his stay at the club until 2015. On 17 April, Bale was honoured with the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, as voted for by his peers.

With Spurs, he rose to international attention during the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League with Tottenham.

Bale scored his first goal of the 2011–12 season on 24 September 2011, in an away game against Wigan Athletic . The game ended in a 2–1 victory for Tottenham. He added his second and third goals of the season on 30 October with two goals against Queens Park Rangers in a 3–1 home win. He continued his good form with the first goal in a 3–1 victory over Fulham the following week, whilst also setting up Aaron Lennon who made it 2–0 on the stroke of half time. The first goal against Fulham was later ruled by the "dubious goals committee" to be an own goal by Chris Baird .

On 3 December, Bale scored the first goal in Tottenham's 3–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers . He marked the goal with a tribute to Gary Speed by holding up his left boot, with "R.I.P Gary Speed" stitched on it, in front of the Bolton fans. On 27 December, Bale scored twice to give Tottenham a 2–0 win against Norwich City. On 5 January 2012, Bale was one of the players voted into the 2011 UEFA Team of the Year. He scored his third brace of the season as he scored twice against Wigan, on 31 January to take his tally to ten goals for the season. In January 2012, he was named Premier League Player of the Month for the second time in his career, after three goals and two assists in the Premier League for the month. On 27 June, Bale signed a new four-year contract, committing his future to the club until 2016.

For the 2012–13 season, Bale changed his squad number from 3 to 11 as he was "not a left-back anymore" and had asked the club for a "higher number". On 16 September 2012, Bale scored his first goal of the 2012–13 season against Reading in a 3–1 away victory. On 29 September, Bale scored the second goal in Tottenham's 3–2 away victory over Manchester United, their first win at Old Trafford since 1989.

He scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–0 away win on Boxing Day against Aston Villa . On 5 January 2013, Bale scored in the FA Cup third round fixture against Coventry City as well as assisting Clint Dempsey on both of his goals in a 3–0 win. On 30 January, Bale scored a magnificent solo effort in the 1–1 draw with Norwich City. Bale then scored against West Bromwich Albion in a 1–0 away win on 3 February. Bale then took his goal tally of the season to 15 goals with a brace against Newcastle United in a match which Spurs won 2–1. This took Spurs into third place, and strengthened their Champions League ambitions.

In Bale's next game, he scored directly from two free kicks, one from 35 yards out just before half time and another from 25 yards out in the dying seconds of injury time, to give Tottenham a 2–1 victory over Lyon in the first leg of their Europa League round of 32 tie on 14 February. This took Bale to a tally of ten goals in his previous ten appearances. In Tottenham's Premier League match against West Ham on 25 February, Bale scored the first and third in a 3–2 win for Tottenham. His second, a long range dipping strike from over 30 yards, in the dying stages of the game, capped a world class performance. This was his eighth goal in six games.

On 3 March, Bale scored against Arsenal in a North London derby that Tottenham won 2–1. On 7 March, Tottenham faced Inter Milan in the Europa League, with Bale scoring the opening goal and Tottenham winning 3–0. Bale's run of good form in the early months of 2013 saw him win Premier League Player of the Month for February as well as the BBC Goal of the Month in both January and February for his strikes against Norwich City and West Ham United respectively. On 4 April, Bale injured his right ankle in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Basel . On his return from injury, Bale scored a goal and assisted Clint Dempsey as Tottenham beat Manchester City at White Hart Lane.

On 28 April, Bale won both the PFA Players' Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year after his excellent showing in the 2012–13 season. A week later, on 2 May 2013, he added the FWA Footballer of the Year Award from the Football Writers' Association, making Bale one of only two players who have won all three in the same season – the other being Cristiano Ronaldo , who won them in 2007. Bale scored the winning goal against his former club Southampton on 4 May. The goal gave Spurs a 1–0 win as well as being Bale's 20th in the Premier League in his 200th appearance for Spurs. On 19 May, Bale scored a 90th-minute goal from 25 yards out. This goal gave Spurs a 1–0 win over Sunderland, but was not enough to give them Champions League football for the following season .

Real Madrid

On 1 September 2013, Spanish club Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Bale, signing a six-year deal in a then world record deal. The Spanish press (and Real Madrid TV) reported that Bale had cost £77 million (€91 million), while the British press reported a world record transfer fee of £85.3 million (€100 million), which would be above Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer record fee of £80 million (€94 million). However, in January 2016, documents pertaining to the transfer were leaked by Football Leaks which confirmed a world record transfer fee of €100.8 million (£85.1 million). Bale's record was surpassed in August 2016 by Paul Pogba 's record fee of €105 million (£89.2 million). Bale was assigned the number 11 shirt at Madrid.

The first half of Bale's season was plagued by injuries; of Real's first 16 games after his signing, Bale missed five and was substituted on or off in six others, playing only five full games. Bale scored on his Real Madrid debut, a goal coming in the 38th minute against Villarreal , before being substituted later in the game for Ángel Di María . Bale's second appearance for Madrid came in a 6–1 victory over Galatasaray in the Champions League. Although Bale only played the final 26 minutes, his free kick led to Cristiano Ronaldo's second goal of the game. On 28 September 2013, Bale made his home debut as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 loss to local rivals Atlético Madrid .

Following a brief appearance against Juventus in the Champions League, Bale made his El Clásico debut on 26 October, but was substituted in the 61st minute. Barcelona won the game 2–1, and Bale's performance drew some media criticism. Four days later, he scored two goals and assisted two in a 7–3 victory against Sevilla . Following his impressive performance the Spanish press nicknamed Bale "The Cannon".

In November, he assisted a further two goals in Madrid's 3–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano , before scoring in a 2–2 draw with Juventus in the Champions League. He then scored a 25-yard free kick against Galatasaray in the Champions League, a match which Madrid won 4–1 despite being a man down. On 30 November, Bale rounded off the month with his first hat-trick for Real Madrid, as well as assisting Karim Benzema , in a 4–0 victory over Real Valladolid . It was a "perfect hat-trick": one goal with a header and one with each foot.On 26 February 2014, he scored twice in Real Madrid's 6–1 win against Schalke 04 in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. He then scored one of the team's three goals in a 3–0 quarter-final win over Borussia Dortmund on 2 April, taking him to five Champions League goals for the season. In La Liga , he scored four goals in three matches between gameweeks 31 and 33, as Real Madrid defeated Rayo Vallecano (5–0), Real Sociedad (4–0) and Almería (4–0). On 16 April, Bale scored the winning goal for Real Madrid with five minutes remaining in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final against rivals Barcelona. Considered one of the best goals of his career, Bale outsprinted Barcelona defender Marc Bartra from the halfway line (with Bale running off the field at one point) before converting past goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto. In the post match interview Bale stated, "I had to get round the player and go off the pitch to do it", while his Real Madrid teammate Xabi Alonso commented, "It was incredible, I have never seen anything like it". The goal was Bale's 20th of the season and his first in a Clásico fixture.

On 24 May, Bale scored in the 110th minute of the extra time period to put Real Madrid 2–1 up against city rivals Atlético Madrid in the 2014 UEFA Champions League Final, as Los Blancos won their tenth European Cup. The goal made Bale the first Welshman to score a goal in a European Cup/Champions League final. Bale finished his debut season with 22 goals and 16 assists in all competitions. Real Madrid's attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano, dubbed BBC , finished the season with 97 goals.

Bale started the 2014–15 season in good form, playing the full 90 minutes and assisting Cristiano Ronaldo's first goal in a 2–0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against Sevilla to win the 2014 UEFA Super Cup. After the match, his performance was described as "amazing" by Ronaldo. Six days later, Bale scored his first goal of the season in a 4–2 away loss to Real Sociedad. Bale scored twice in Real's 8–2 win over Deportivo La Coruña on 20 September 2014.

In December 2014, Bale scored in a third major final, the second goal in a 2–0 win over San Lorenzo , to help the club win the FIFA Club World Cup. In a match against Espanyol on 10 January 2015, Bale was booed by a section of Madrid fans who adjudged him as being selfish in shooting for goal and not passing to Ronaldo. Bale was defended by Carlo Ancelotti over this plus difficulties at the end of the season. On 18 April, Bale sustained a calf injury against Málaga.

Bale scored twice in Real's win over Real Betis in September 2015. His two goals took the total number of goals of Madrid's attacking trio of Bale, Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo to 200 goals since they first played together in 2013.

On 20 December 2015, he scored four goals in a 10–2 victory over Rayo Vallecano. On 9 January 2016, Bale scored his second hat-trick of the season in Madrid's 5–0 defeat of Deportivo La Coruña in Zinedine Zidane 's first match as head coach of Los Blancos . After being sidelined since 19 January, due to a calf injury he sustained in a 5–1 league victory at home against Sporting Gijón , during which he had also scored the opening goal of the match, Bale returned to the pitch on 5 March; he made a substitute appearance in Real Madrid's 7–1 home win over Celta Vigo , scoring Real Madrid's final goal of the match.

On 20 March 2016, Bale scored his 43rd La Liga goal in a 4–0 defeat of Sevilla to surpass Gary Lineker as the highest scoring British player in the competition's history. On 23 April, Bale scored twice as Real Madrid came from 0–2 down to win 3–2 at Rayo Vallecano. Bale was a regular starter when the team won the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League . He assisted the team's only goal and went on to score in the penalty shoot-out win over Atlético Madrid in the final.

On 30 October 2016, Bale signed a new contract with Madrid until 2022. On 22 November 2016, Bale damaged his ankle tendons during the 2–1 victory at Sporting CP that would rule him out for up to four months. On 23 April, Bale made his 100th appearance in La Liga in a 3–2 home defeat to Barcelona, but was forced off after sustaining an injury.

Despite suffering several injuries during the season, he managed to feature 19 times for Madrid as they won their 33rd La Liga title. After missing more than a month, he returned to action for the 2017 UEFA Champions League Final, which Madrid won.

The 2017–18 season saw some improvement in Bale's goalscoring record across the league, cup competitions, and in the Champions League. He featured in Real Madrid's victories in both the 2017 UEFA Super Cup and the 2017 Supercopa de España, and he also featured in the club's victorious 2017 FIFA Club World Cup campaign, winning a third trophy before 2018 had even begun. In La Liga, he made 26 appearances and scored 16 goals but Real Madrid were unable to reclaim the title, finishing in third.

The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League saw Bale scoring once prior to the final. This goal came from the match against Borussia Dortmund in the group stages, when he opened the scoring in a 3–1 victory in Germany. In the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final , Bale scored two goals, the first an overhead kick from the edge of the 18-yard box – regarded as one of the greatest goals in Champions League history – before a speculative 40-yard strike that went through the hands of goalkeeper Loris Karius , resulting in a 3–1 victory over Liverpool , to help Real Madrid win their thirteenth Champions League trophy. He became the first substitute to score twice in a Champions League final and was named man of the match.

Following the break-up of the BBC trifecta with Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus, and the replacement of Zidane by new manager Julen Lopetegui , Bale was ever-present during August 2018, and was awarded Cinco Estrellas Mahou for the Real Madrid Player of the Month, scoring against Getafe and Girona along the way.

On 19 December 2018, Bale scored a hat-trick in a 3–1 win over Kashima Antlers in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup. He became the third player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA Club World Cup match after Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suárez . He also became the third player to score in three editions of the competition after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi . He was awarded the Golden Ball after Real Madrid won the competition by beating Al Ain FC 4–1 in the final.

On 9 February 2019, Bale scored his 100th goal for Real Madrid after scoring the team's third goal as a substitute in a 3–1 away win over cross-city rivals Atlético Madrid; however, he was also the source of controversy in the media following the match, due to the "provocative" goal celebration that he made towards the opposition fans.

In July 2019, he was close to leaving the club, according to manager Zinedine Zidane, but later that month a proposed transfer to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning was called off by Real Madrid. In October 2019, Bale was said to be "angry" at Real Madrid and wanted to leave, but later that month Zidane said Bale had never asked to leave. Ex-Real Madrid president Ramón Calderón also said that Bale should return to Tottenham Hotspur . He made 16 appearances during the league season, as Real Madrid won the 2019–20 La Liga.

On 19 September 2020, Bale returned to Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan. He came off the bench to score the winner in Tottenham's 2–1 home win over Brighton & Hove Albion on 1 November, his first goal since returning to the club. On 3 December, Bale scored his 200th career goal in a 3–3 draw against LASK in the Europa League. He scored a brace and got an assist in a 4–0 win over Burnley on 28 February 2021. Bale once again scored twice in Tottenham's 4–1 victory against Crystal Palace on 7 March, bringing his tally to six goals in six games. On 2 May, Bale scored a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against Sheffield United . The hat-trick was only his second in the Premier League and his first since his return to Tottenham. On 23 May 2021, Bale came off the bench to score two goals against Leicester City in a 4–2 away victory which led Tottenham to a 7th-place finish, ensuring qualification to the Europa Conference League.

Bale returned to Real Madrid for the 2021–22 season. His appearances during the season were severely limited. Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, confirmed in May 2022 that Bale would leave Real Madrid at the end of the season. On 1 June, Bale himself published an open letter on Twitter confirming his exit.

On 27 June 2022, Major League Soccer team Los Angeles FC announced that they had signed Bale to a 12-month contract using Targeted Allocation Money. He made his debut on 17 July as a 72nd-minute substitute in a 2–1 win at Nashville SC. In his next appearance, on 23 July, he came on as a 65th-minute substitute against Sporting Kansas City , scoring his first goal for the club in a 2–0 victory. Bale made 12 total appearances in the regular season for LAFC, starting two matches, but remained mostly unused as the club won the Supporters' Shield . He made his first playoff appearance in the MLS Cup as a substitute, where his header in the 128th minute tied the match at 3–3 and sent it to a penalty shootout. His goal was the latest goal in MLS history. LAFC won the shootout and their first MLS Cup title.

On 9 January 2023, following the 2022 FIFA World Cup , Bale announced his retirement from professional football.

International career

Bale was selected by Wales at the end of the 2005–06 season for a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on 27 May 2006. In the match in Graz , Austria, he replaced David Vaughan after 55 minutes and assisted Robert Earnshaw 's winning goal in a 2–1 victory. At 16 years and 315 days old, Bale became the youngest player to play for Wales, breaking a record held by Lewin Nyatanga who set that three months earlier; this record was itself superseded by Harry Wilson in October 2013.

Wales youth guru Brian Flynn commented that Bale was potentially a future star of the game, comparing his technical ability to that of Ryan Giggs . On 7 October 2006, Bale became the youngest ever goalscorer for the senior national team, scoring a free kick in a Euro 2008 qualification match against Slovakia . After a long injury lay-off, he returned and started in the World Cup qualifier against Finland on 10 October 2009. On 14 October, he played a part in Wales' final World Cup qualifier by setting up David Vaughan to score the opening goal against Liechtenstein and won the free kick that led to the second, Aaron Ramsey 's first at senior level.

In December 2010, Bale was awarded the BBC Cymru Sports Personality of the Year trophy. On 12 October 2012, Bale scored both goals for Wales in a 2–1 victory over Scotland in a 2014 World Cup qualifier. He won his 100th Wales Cap during a World Cup Qualifying Match on 13 November 2021 against Belarus at the Cardiff City Stadium where he played 45 minutes being substituted at half time.

On 9 September 2014, Bale scored two goals, one with a header and another with a free kick, as Wales beat Andorra 2–1 in their first match of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign. In doing so, he became Wales' joint 10th all-time top-scorer with 14 goals, alongside John Hartson . Bale scored two goals on 28 March 2015, in a 3–0 win away in Israel . On 12 June, his 50th cap, he scored the only goal to defeat Belgium in a home qualifier, taking Wales above the Belgians to the top of Group B. He headed Jazz Richards ' cross on 3 September in a 1–0 away win over Cyprus , putting Wales three points away from qualification. With qualification to UEFA Euro 2016 achieved (the country's first major finals since the 1958 FIFA World Cup ), on 13 October 2015, Bale scored his seventh goal of the qualifying campaign in Wales' final qualifier against Andorra at the Cardiff City Stadium.

On 11 June, Bale scored the first goal in Wales' clash with Slovakia in their opening game of UEFA Euro 2016 from a free kick, helping his country secure a 2–1 win and, in the process, lead them to their first win in a tournament in 58 years. His goal saw him become the first Welsh player to score at a major international tournament since Terry Medwin's goal against Hungary at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. He then followed this up by scoring another opening free kick goal against England in the second group game, though Wales went on to lose the game 2–1; this made Bale the first player to score two free kicks at a European Championship since Germany 's Thomas Häßler in 1992. Bale scored his third goal of the tournament in a 3–0 win over Russia , making him their all-time top scorer in major tournaments, ahead of Ivor Allchurch who scored twice in the 1958 World Cup; he also helped to create the second goal of the match, which was scored by Neil Taylor . In the last 16 against Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes, Bale sent in the cross from which Gareth McAuley scored an own goal to give the Welsh victory. Wales were eliminated following a 2–0 defeat to eventual champions Portugal in the semi-final of the tournament on 6 July.

On 5 September 2016, Bale scored twice in a 4–0 win over Moldova in a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification game. This brought him to 24 international goals, surpassing both Ivor Allchurch and Trevor Ford, and behind only Ian Rush 's 28. On 22 March 2018, with 29 goals, Bale became Wales' all-time top-scorer surpassing Ian Rush's 28, thanks to his first hat-trick in his international career in a 2018 China Cup match against China .

In May 2021, he was selected as captain of the Wales squad for the delayed UEFA Euro 2020 tournament. At the finals, he provided the assists for Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts's goals in Wales's second group match on 16 June, a 2–0 win over Turkey ; he helped his country qualify for the round of 16, in which they were beaten 4–0 by Denmark .

On 24 March 2022, Bale scored two goals in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff semi-finals in a 2–1 win against Austria which sent Wales to the playoff final. In the playoff final against Ukraine on 5 June, delayed due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier in the year, Bale's free-kick was deflected into the net by Ukraine captain Andriy Yarmolenko , giving Wales the lone goal in a 1–0 victory. Initially credited as an own goal for Yarmolenko, the decisive goal was subsequently awarded to Bale at the end of June. Wales qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1958 . Bale called it "the greatest result in history for Welsh football," and further that it "means everything. It's what dreams are made of." Bale, as captain led the Welsh team in singing along to the unofficial anthem of the team, " Yma o Hyd ," which was performed live by Dafydd Iwan after the final whistle. After the match, The Guardian opined on the occasion that "what can be said now is that nobody has ever achieved more in a Wales shirt."

In November 2022, Bale was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar . In the team's opening group stage game against the United States , Bale was awarded a penalty kick after being fouled in the box with Wales 1–0 down, and converted to equalise the game. This was the first goal scored by Wales in a World Cup since 1958, and earned his side a draw with the United States. This proved to be Wales's only point and goal of the tournament, as they finished last in Group B, and were eliminated in the first round. Bale's final appearance as a professional footballer was Wales' final group game, a 3–0 loss to England .

Bale, who met the age criteria to play in the 2012 London Olympics , said in May 2011 "I want to play in the Olympics" for the Great Britain Olympic football team , in defiance of the FAW. On 28 October 2011, Bale became the first player to be photographed modelling the British 2012 London Olympics football supporters' shirt. In response, FAW chief executive Jonathan Ford said: "Our position remains unchanged. We are not for Team GB. Gareth can make his own choices and make his own decisions. But we are not going to stop anyone playing." On behalf of Bale, a spokesman said "while he is 100% Welsh, he is also British".

At the end of June 2012, Bale pulled out of the tournament with a back injury. On 29 June, he advised the Team GB football manager, Stuart Pearce , that he would not be available for selection as he had aggravated an old back and hip injury during a training run. In view of the short recovery time between the end of the Olympics and the start of the Premier League season, Bale had decided to withdraw rather than exacerbate the problem. Bale recovered from his injury in good time to be included on Spurs' pre-season tour of the United States, scoring against LA Galaxy on 24 July and against New York Red Bulls a week later. Between these matches, Bale also played against Liverpool when he was injured in a tackle by Charlie Adam .

Bale's appearances in Spurs' pre-season tour coincided with Team GB's Olympic matches, where they drew with Senegal before victories over the United Arab Emirates and Uruguay took them through to the knockout stages, where they lost to South Korea following a penalty shoot-out. Bale's withdrawal from the Team GB squad attracted calls for sanctions against him including a ban from the rest of Spurs' pre-season tour but, in the absence of an official complaint by Team GB, these were not carried out. Spurs' manager, André Villas-Boas , defended the player insisting that Bale "had recovered quicker than expected". The club's stance was supported by British Olympic Association chairman Lord Moynihan.

Tottenham released a statement in relation to Bale's non-selection for Team GB, they stated that "Gareth sustained an injury as he built up his fitness ahead of joining up with Stuart Pearce's side. MRI scan reports were sent to the FA medical team on 29 June 2012. He was subsequently not selected on the basis of this injury and the inability to predict recovery time. This decision was not taken lightly and made only after consultation with Team GB's medical team, who were in agreement after seeing the medical reports."

Player profile

One of the fastest footballers in the world at his peak, Bale started out as an offensive left-back or wing-back at the beginning of his career. It was at Tottenham Hotspur that his manager Harry Redknapp decided to utilise Bale's pace and played him as a left winger, where he developed into a world class player. He was predominantly known for his speed, strength, stamina, and heading ability, but also possessed good technique and ball control. His skills, combined with his acceleration and physicality, allowed him to get past defenders regularly and make runs into space, where he was able to score or create. Bale was also a free kick specialist, and was known for employing the "knuckleball" technique (popularised by Juninho Pernambucano ) when taking free kicks. As he moved further forward onto the wing , he began to score goals on a regular basis with powerful strikes from outside the penalty box. In addition to his athletic and offensive capabilities, Bale also drew praise in the media for his work-rate and defensive contribution off the ball.

As Bale developed into one of the most dangerous left wingers in the world, his style of play won admiration from managers, current and past players such as Luís Figo , José Mourinho , and Dani Alves . Bale had been described as a footballer with "tremendous speed, great crossing ability, a great left foot and exceptional physical qualities". Former Liverpool player and BBC Sport football pundit Mark Lawrenson said in 2011: "What makes Gareth Bale so special? Simple. He is one of the quickest players I've ever seen, but he has another gear and the ability to find that extra pace within the next stride. He has the ability to perform and use his technique at great pace."

During the 2011–12 season, Harry Redknapp experimented with using Bale in a free role, as an attacking midfielder , or as a second striker. The following season, André Villas-Boas deployed Bale in this role on a more permanent basis. After joining Real Madrid, Bale was usually deployed as a winger, but mostly on the right flank, due to the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo on the left, a position which enabled him to cut into the centre and strike on goal with his stronger left foot; he was also used in a more attacking role on occasion, as a striker or centre forward, courtesy of his goalscoring, movement off the ball, and ability to make attacking runs, while his elevation, strength, and heading accuracy saw him excel in the air in this role. However, in spite of his playing ability, his playing time during his later seasons with Real Madrid was largely limited by recurring injury struggles.

Outside football

Bale lives in Madrid with his partner Emma Rhys-Jones, his high-school sweetheart. Their first child was born in Cardiff on 21 October 2012, and their second daughter was born in the same city on 22 March 2016. On 17 July 2016, Bale announced he and Rhys-Jones were engaged. On 9 March 2018, Bale announced that he and his fiancée were expecting their third child. Later that year, on 8 May, the couple announced the birth of their son. They married in June 2019.

Bale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to association football and charity.

Bale is teetotal.

On 26 March 2013, Bale filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office to register a logo based on his heart shaped goal celebration along with his squad number (eleven) to be used on a range of merchandise such as clothing and footwear. Bale is featured in EA Sports ' FIFA video game series , and he has appeared on the British, Irish and Middle Eastern covers of FIFA 14 , alongside global cover star Lionel Messi. His 'heart' goal celebration is featured in FIFA 14 .

Bale has endorsed several companies in his career and has current deals with Adidas , EA Sports, Lucozade and BT Sport. In 2014, Bale was the first player to wear the Adidas F50 crazylight football boots. In 2015, he unveiled the Adidas X15 football boots.

Active on social media, Bale has over 45 million Instagram followers, and earns $185,000 per sponsored post, the second highest-paid Briton after David Beckham . In 2016, ESPN ranked Bale twelfth on its list of the world's most famous athletes.

In November 2014, Bale appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola " campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar , Xavi and African star Didier Drogba . Under the slogan "Together, we can beat Ebola", FIFA's campaign was done in conjunction with the Confederation of African Football and health experts, with the players holding up eleven messages to raise awareness of the disease and ways to combat it.

In April 2020, he and his wife Emma donated £1 million to health boards in Wales and Spain to help in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic. In October 2020, Bale gave £15,000 for Christmas hampers in Swansea , Wales.

Bale is a keen golfer, and has a replica of the 17th hole – the island green – at TPC at Sawgrass in his back garden. His golf playing became somewhat controversial in his latter years at Real Madrid, with the perception that Bale was more interested in his hobby than football. El Confidencial cited golf as the reason why Bale spent so much time out injured, claiming it worsened his back problems. Bale often humorously played-up to this reputation; after qualifying for the Euro 2020 tournament with Wales, he celebrated behind a Welsh flag with the slogan "Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order" written on it. Bale was interviewed in Episode 179 of The Erik Anders Lang Show podcast, in which he said his golf handicap was "between a three and a four". Bale competed alongside American professional golfer Joseph Bramlett in the February 2023 edition of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California . The duo went on to place joint-16th in the amateur side of the event.

Career statistics

• Football League Cup : 2007–08
• La Liga : 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22
• Copa del Rey : 2013–14
• Supercopa de España : 2017
• UEFA Champions League : 2013–14 , 2015–16 , 2016–17 , 2017–18 , 2021–22
• UEFA Super Cup : 2014, 2017
• FIFA Club World Cup : 2014, 2017, 2018

Los Angeles FC

• MLS Cup : 2022
• Supporters' Shield : 2022
• Tottenham Hotspur Young Player of the Year: 2009–10, 2010–11
• Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year: 2012–13
• UEFA Team of the Year: 2011, 2013
• UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2015–16
• Welsh Footballer of the Year: 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
• ESM Team of the Year: 2012–13
• The Football League Team of the Decade
• Premier League Player of the Month: April 2010, January 2012, February 2013
• PFA Team of the Year: 2006–07 Championship, 2010–11 Premier League, 2011–12 Premier League, 2012–13 Premier League
• PFA Players' Player of the Year: 2010–11, 2012–13
• PFA Young Player of the Year: 2012–13
• FWA Footballer of the Year: 2012–13
• Premier League Player of the Season: 2012–13
• FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball : 2018
• BBC Wales Carwyn James Junior Sportsman of the Year: 2006
• Football Association of Wales Young Player of the Year: 2007
• BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year: 2010
• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE): 2022
• List of top international men's football goal scorers by country
• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
• This page was last modified on 11 April 2024, at 12:05. Suggest an edit .