Gareth Bale
Right Wing / Forward · Real Madrid · Wales
About Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is the most expensive British footballer in history and Wales's greatest ever player. He won five Champions Leagues with Real Madrid and scored two goals in the 2018 final — including a sensational overhead kick that many consider the greatest goal in the final's history. His left-foot one-two-three sprint pace and delivery made him the finest wide player in Europe between 2010 and 2016.
Gareth Bale's story
Cardiff's Wing Weapon
Bale was born in Cardiff (WAL) and signed for Southampton (ENG) at 9. Tottenham signed him in 2007 for £5m and he transformed from left-back to left-winger — one of the great positional reinventions in English football. His three consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year nominations at Tottenham preceded a world-record transfer to Real Madrid in 2013.
The 2018 Overhead Kick
In the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool (ENG), with Real Madrid 1-0 up, Bale entered as a substitute and within two minutes rose to meet a cross and connected with an overhead kick that flew into the top corner past Karius. The technique — running backwards, the height of the jump, the contact, the placement — was immediately acclaimed as the finest individual goal in Champions League final history.
Wales and the World Cup
Bale captained Wales to their first World Cup since 1958 — qualifying for Qatar 2022 via a play-off he personally won with a goal and a man-of-the-match performance. It was the culmination of his international legacy — not individual trophies but a collective achievement that transformed Welsh football's infrastructure and standing.
Did you know?
- ⚽ His overhead kick in the 2018 Champions League final — a bicycle kick from a cross, rising past three defenders — is widely voted the greatest goal ever scored in a Champions League final.
- 🏆 He won 5 Champions League medals with Real Madrid — the most by any British player in the competition's history — despite a complicated relationship with the club, fans, and management.
- 👨👩👧👦 Married childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones in 2019; they have four children: Alba Violet, Nava Valentina, Axel Charles, and Nova Grey. He settled in Cardiff after retiring.
- 🌟 José Mourinho, who managed him at Madrid, said: "Gareth Bale has the most frightening combination of pace and power I have ever seen in a wide player. When he runs in a straight line at pace, nobody catches him."
- 📊 He scored 41 international goals for Wales in 111 appearances — the all-time national record — and led them to their first World Cup since 1958 and the Euro 2016 semi-final.
- 🏌️ His famous "Wales, Golf, Madrid — in that order" banner became one of football's most controversial personal statements — misread by some as disloyalty but reflecting a genuine hierarchy of priorities.
- ⚡ He was officially measured at 36 km/h during his Tottenham years — one of the fastest speeds recorded by an outfield player in Premier League history — combining that pace with Premier League football technical quality.
- 🏴 He scored the goal that sent Wales to the 2022 World Cup — a penalty in the play-off final against Ukraine — completing a 64-year wait for Welsh football's biggest achievement.
- 🤝 His Tottenham partnership with Luka Modrić and Rafael van der Vaart in 2011-12 — the most creative Spurs midfield in modern history — is considered one of the great lost opportunities in English football, as all three left within two years.
Honours
- UEFA Champions League x5: Real Madrid (2014,2016,2017,2018,2022)
- La Liga x3: Real Madrid (2017, 2020, 2022)
- Champions League Final Goal x2: 2018 overhead kick vs Liverpool — widely considered greatest ever CL final goal
- Welsh Record: 41 goals — all-time Wales scoring record
- Copa del Rey x2: Real Madrid (2014, 2023)
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