Seven years ago, the name “Gareth Bale” cycled through every single sports media overnight as the Welsh captain completed his move to Real Madrid from Spurs on a world record transfer fee of £86M. Now, Bale has completed his move back to the Premier League side and his old club Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs will have Bale on loan for one year with an agreement to purchase him from Madrid after the loan is terminated, in addition to paying £20M in wages and loan fees.
Bale had a turbulent relationship with Madrid under head coach Zinedine Zidane in their 7-year stint together. Last November, when Bale played for Wales in an international friendly, he caused a controversy by posing with a flag that said “Wales, Golf, Madrid, in that order” — a shot at either Madrid itself, or at the notoriously harsh media that framed Bale in a negative light throughout his stay. At the end of last season, he made no appearances, and returned this season to score only three goals in 20 appearances. The sour relationship between Madrid and Bale masks what was a considerably successful run for him: four Champions League titles in seven years.
However, the end of Bale’s Madrid career does not represent his ability as a footballer. Bale is still one of the most competent wingers in the game, having scored two goals in the Champions League Final over Liverpool in 2018. After suffering a knee injury on international duty earlier this month, he will have to get himself in match shape before the end of October’s international break, but there is a strong hope that he will return with a high level of motivation for this Spurs team. No doubt, it will be exciting to see where his historical return to Tottenham leads him.
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