Gareth Frank Bale MBE (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a winger for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC and the Wales national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time.
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). Being part of the subsequent trio dubbed BBC, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, 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, 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. He subsequently joined MLS club Los Angeles FC in July 2022 and won the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup that season.
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 40 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.
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 is predominantly known for his speed, strength, stamina, and heading ability, but also possesses good technique and ball control. His skills, combined with his acceleration and physicality, allow him to get past defenders regularly and make runs into space, where he is able to score or create. Bale is also a free kick specialist, and is 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 has also drawn praise in the media for his work-rate and defensive contribution off the ball.<\/P>","DA5E7C1A0F1CB829A66A16651D2472FD":"Wales","A16D5E6475634BB126EF698FB3550B8C":"0","0A9B0394F31973591937C38F2F471911":"Real Madrid,Tottenham Hotspur[on loan],Tottenham Hotspur,Southampton,Southampton U18","30A86FC0880FF75E":"185cm","A16D5E6475634BB1C2248B183B7E41495B218039EB2EF0A3":"1","0C852134AA40B2DD":"1","F27CBDD6332F20A59321B0F4E9CF2AB8":"11","82CBDCB828DBDF896209A361CA981BCF":"","8DC362CCE065919BCF40467C0DE6A7E8":"
CLUB
<\/U><\/STRONG>Tottenham Hotspur<\/STRONG>
Football League\/EFL Cup runner-up: 2008–09, 2020–21
Real Madrid<\/STRONG>
La Liga: 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021-22
Copa del Rey: 2013–14
Supercopa de Espana: 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<\/STRONG>
MLS Cup: 2022
Supporters' Shield: 2022
INDIVIDUAL
<\/STRONG><\/U>Tottenham Hotspur Young Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2009–10, 2010–11
Tottenham Hotspur Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2012–13
UEFA Team of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2011, 2013
UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2015–16
Welsh Footballer of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
ESM Team of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2012–13
The Football Manager Team of the Decade:<\/STRONG>
2015
Premier League Player of the Month:
<\/STRONG>April 2010, January 2012, February 2013
PFA Team of the Year:
<\/STRONG>2006–07 Championship, 2010–11 Premier League, 2011–12 Premier League, 2012–13 Premier League
PFA Players' Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2010–11, 2012–13
PFA Young Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2012–13
FWA Footballer of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2012–13
Premier League Player of the Season:<\/STRONG>
2012–13
FIFA FIFPro World XI 2nd team:<\/STRONG>
2013
FIFA FIFPro World XI 3rd team:<\/STRONG>
2014, 2016
FIFA FIFPro World XI 4th team:<\/STRONG>
2015
FIFA FIFPro World XI 5th team:<\/STRONG>
2017
FIFA Club World Cup Top goalscorer:<\/STRONG>
2014
BBC Wales Carwyn James Junior Sportsman of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2006
FAW Young Player of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2007
BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year:<\/STRONG>
2010
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 3rd place:<\/STRONG>
2016
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball:<\/STRONG>
2018<\/P>","0FCC2F07B9D0EBFD":"Los Angeles FC","9EBD0BFF9766B31DEF99430639A2F292":"Real Madrid","e_index":1};