Gareth Bale joined Tottenham Hotspur in 2007 from Southampton. At Southampton, he played as a left-back for the club. Later, at Tottenham Hotspur, he was transformed to play on the right-wing. He played for six seasons at the North London club, in which he made 203 appearances scoring 56 goals and providing 58 assists. Bale was also named PFA Player of the Year in season 2010/11 and also in 2012/13. Not only he won the PFA POTY twice, but also the PFA Young Player of the Year award in 2012/13. Bale’s performance impressed every big club including the Los Blancos. His pace, long-range shots, free-kicks, dribbling was phenomenal.
Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid
In the summer transfer window of 2013, the Spanish giants, Real Madrid announced the signing of the Welsh winger, Gareth Bale. Los Blancos signed him from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record transfer fee of that time of £85.3 million (€100 million). Expectations were high from the club, the media, and fans for Gareth Bale to shine for Real Madrid. He didn’t fail to impress them. In his first season at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale was unstoppable. He was called the Prince of Real Madrid and was also compared to Cristiano Ronaldo.
He played 44 games in his first season for Los Blancos, scoring 22 goals and proving 19 assists. Including goals in the Spanish Copa del Rey competition final against the rivals Barcelona and in the UEFA Champions League final against the city rivals Atletico Madrid. The famous goal against Barcelona, where he outran Marc Barta to score the winner and help Real Madrid win the Copa del Rey. He scored two of the most important goals of Real Madrid’s 2013/14 season to help them win two major trophies.
Gareth Bale’s achievements at Real Madrid
Gareth Bale won 16 trophies with Real Madrid including back-to-back-to-back UEFA Champions League in 2016, 2017, and 2018. He scored important and decisive goals to help the club win in the finals. Along with the goals in the 2014 Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League finals, he also scored a brace in the 2018 UCL final against Liverpool.
- La Liga x 2
- Copa del Rey x 1
- UEFA Champions League x 4
- FIFA Club World Cup x 4
- UEFA Supercup x 3
- Spanish Super Cup x 2
Gareth Bale’s rise at Real Madrid
Gareth Bale impressed everyone in his first season for Los Blancos. However, he suffered from injuries throughout his second season at the club. Although he started in a good form, his injuries didn’t allow him to play at his peak form. However, in the season 2015/16 and 2016/17, we saw the rise of Gareth Bale for Real Madrid. He did suffer from injuries, but always made a great comeback and scored goals on regular appearances. In the season 2015/16, after Cristiano Ronaldo was injured in the latter stages of La Liga, Gareth Bale helped the team stay in the title race with Barcelona. Although he made only 31 appearances in that season, he was involved in 34 goals (19 goals and 15 assists). Gareth Bale was again at his peak for Real Madrid.
The downfall and booing
Gareth Bale suffered from injuries throughout his career for Real Madrid. His regular absence in the squad and with no other right-winger of his caliber, Zinedine Zidane made changes in the squad. From a traditional 4-3-3 formation, Zidane switched to a 4-4-2 diamond (4-1-2-1-2) formation with Isco in the team. Isco’s impressed Zidane and cemented his place in the squad leaving Gareth Bale on the bench. With no regular game time, Bale’s performance weakened. This resulted in heavy criticism from the media and Real Madrid fans. The Los Blancos used to boo during the home games and this resulted in the frustration.
After Zidane’s departure in 2018, saw Gareth Bale back in the playing XI under Julen Lopetegui and Solari (Solari replaced Lopetegui in October). However, he could only score 14 goals in 42 appearances. After a lot of criticism, Gareth Bale finally wanted to leave Real Madrid to join the Chinese club Jiangsu Suning. However, Madrid forced him to stay. Now, finally, Gareth Bale is on his move to his former club Tottenham Hotspur.
Gareth Bale has given Madridistas with some unforgettable memories. Right from his famous sprint against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final to his bicycle kick against Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final. Every Madridista hopes he performs well at Spurs and regains his form back.
