What do you need to know about Gareth Bale? The basics on LAFC’s new star

Gareth Bale
By Jacob Whitehead and Omar Garrick
Jun 25, 2022

Gareth Bale is set to join the pantheon of footballing greats to make a stop in North America as The Athletic reported on Saturday afternoon that the Wales star has agreed to join Los Angeles FC in MLS on a one-year deal, with an option for an additional 18 months.

It is understood that clubs from around the world were interested in the 32-year-old, who prioritised regular football in his bid for form before this winter’s World Cup.

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But who is LAFC getting? Bale is something of an enigma, not just for his mercurial style, but for the disparate legacies he leaves at Wales and Real Madrid — despite being one of the club’s most decorated players of all time.

Attended a famous sporting school

Wales has roughly the same population as Nevada — just over three million. Even so, you would not expect three of their greatest modern sportspeople to attend the same school in suburban Cardiff.

Born in 1989, Bale attended Whitchurch High School alongside both long-time Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton and 2018 Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas (Bale and Warburton were both in the same year group, while Thomas, at 36, is slightly older). Between the group, they boast five Champions League titles, three La Liga trophies, two Olympic medals, two Six Nations championships, and a yellow jersey.

In an effort to develop his skills, Bale was only allowed to play one-touch, and could not use his left foot. He also ran an 11.4-second 100m at the age of only 14.

Made his debut for Southampton and Wales at just 16

Bale was 132 days older than Theo Walcott when he made his Southampton debut, featuring against Millwall in April 2006 at the age of 16 years and 275 days.

He made his first appearance for Wales only a month later, playing against Trinidad and Tobago at the wonderfully-named Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium as part of the Caribbean nation’s preparation for the 2006 World Cup.

Technically, Bale could have also represented England through his grandmother — though when agent Jonathan Barnett pointed this out, the proud Welshman replied: “Never say that again if you want to be my agent!”

Started out as a left-back

Bale has scored 183 goals in his career. Quite the haul, considering he began life as a left-back who specialised in free-kicks. He may still be a dead-ball savant, scoring crucial set-pieces in this year’s World Cup play-offs, but his position is so very different.

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Coaches aimed to use his tremendous pace on the overlap, with former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp explaining how he wanted Bale to come from deep, allowing the precocious youngster to build up to full speed.

Fast forward 15 years, and the skinny full-back is now a powerfully-built forward capable of playing across the front three.

He bemoaned the impact of his previous life as a defender last year when discussing his international career, saying: “The thing for me is I played my first 25 games at left-back, so it doesn’t help the stats!”

Nearly sold as a ‘bad luck charm’ by Spurs

When Bale plays for Wales, good things happen. A European Championship semi-final. Goals against England. A World Cup berth.

It was not always this way.

In his first 24 Premier League appearances after joining Tottenham for an initial £5 million in 2007, Bale never once won a game. He was almost sold after a disappointing debut season, with Birmingham City interested in signing Bale for £3 million, and former Spurs manager Martin Jol turning down the chance to take him to Hamburg.

That famous hat trick against Inter Milan

When did we know Bale would be a star? October 20, 2010.

The occasion was Tottenham’s Champions League group stage match against Inter, on their first campaign in the competition since 1961-62.

Playing against the reigning champions, Bale tormented Brazil international Maicon, torching the full-back for two almost identical goals, before rifling his third home from the edge of the area.

Tottenham would lose 4-3, but the 21-year-old repeated the trick two weeks later in the second leg — once more embarrassing the unfortunate Maicon with a goal and assist, sending Spurs into the knockout stages.

There would be plenty more famous Champions League nights to come.

A former world record holder

You can get world records for anything now. Longest fingernails, hairiest family, fastest time to climb Mount Everest while wearing only lederhosen. But Bale’s was a little more significant (with apologies to Lee Redmond, whose fingernails are an impressive 28 cumulative feet).

When he signed for Real Madrid in 2013 for £85.3 million ($132 million), Bale became the most expensive footballer in history, eclipsing the £80 million Real paid for Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

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His record was broken three years later by Paul Pogba’s £89 million transfer from Juventus to Manchester United, while the total now stands at £190 million ($222 million) for Neymar’s 2017 move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Declared fastest footballer in the world

He may have lost a few tenths of pace, but Bale was once declared the fastest footballer in the world in a study carried out by Mexican club Pachuca.
The FIFA-backed report claimed Bale was the quickest on a list of players, reaching a top speed of 22.9mph.

Bale ran 59.1 metres in 7.04 seconds to win the 2014 Copa del Rey final against Barcelona with a wonderful solo goal.

The bounds of the pitch were immaterial, Barcelona defender Marc Bartra a mere inconvenience, as Bale sprinted past Bartra, and the touchline, to make it 2-1 with a composed finish.

So, should he have won the Puskas?

That’s correct. Bale was surprised that he didn’t win the Puskas award — FIFA’s prize for the best goal in a calendar year — for his spectacular goal in the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool.

His phenomenal overhead kick sealed Real’s victory — but the award was given instead to Mohammed Salah for his solo effort against Everton.

Bale told FourFourTwo: “Yeah, I was surprised by that, to be honest. What can you say? It makes the award look a little diminished, although it was obviously a great goal by Salah.”

As Michael Jordan has demonstrated, athletes often need to feel a little disrespected to show their best.

Helped Wales to their first World Cup in 64 years

Thanks to his trophy haul with Real Madrid, Bale is one of the most successful club players of all time — but he will be remembered by many as the man who brought Wales back to footballing relevance.

With Bale’s help, the country qualified for the last two European Championships, even reaching the semi-final in 2016, but the greatest moment arguably occurred earlier this month, when he led Wales to their first World Cup since 1958.

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Despite playing just 290 minutes of domestic football for Real Madrid, Bale’s incredible brace against Austria sent Wales into a play-off final against Ukraine. In an emotionally-charged tie, his free-kick deflected off Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko, ending 64 years of World Cup agony.

One hundred and six matches, 39 goals, 22 assists. Bale is Wales’ greatest ever player.

A golf obsessive with three legendary holes in his back garden

Bale has never hidden his admiration for golf and once claimed he was happy to be nicknamed ‘the golfer’ following a comment made by teammate Thibaut Courtois.

His love for golf became so obsessive that his home in Glamorgan, South Wales, is home to a three-hole course in the back garden.

Bale instructed company Southwest Greens to build replica versions of three of the most well-known holes in the world: the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, the ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth hole at Royal Troon and the 12th at Augusta National.

George Burley, who managed Bale at Southampton, compared his range of passing to a golfer, telling The Athletic last year: “On the ball his passing ability and his range of passing… That was the way I was brought up, passing the ball. I used to work endlessly passing the ball and doing passing routines two or three times a week, and that was the way.

“You’ve got clubs in your (golf) bag: is that a driver? Is that a sand wedge? Is that a four iron? Gareth had the whole works. His feel and his touch was fantastic.”

gareth-bale
 Bale at a celebrity golf tournament in Wales, 2015. (Photo: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)

Fell out with Real Madrid fans

“Wales. Golf. Madrid.” So said the flag that Bale hoisted as he celebrated Wales reaching Euro 2020. It got him into a bit of hot water and launched a meme.

Bale’s first few years in Madrid were a huge success, but the second half of his Real career was tormented with several injuries.

While Bale won 16 major trophies with the Spanish giants, his presence was overshadowed by players who the Madrid supporters had fallen in love with — the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema.

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Bale was often whistled at by Madrid supporters towards the end of his tenure and looked more in his element when playing for his country. He also had a poor relationship with Madrid-based Spanish newspaper, Marca. The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan detailed the entire saga in March of this year.

While it was a sad end to his time in Spain, he got the send-off he deserved in their Champions League trophy celebrations this year.

He’s moving to the United States… to beat the United States?

That’s right! Wales are in Group B for the World Cup in Qatar later this year, along with Iran, England and the United States.

Bale’s move to America will grant him regular game time, something he prioritised when deciding his move upon the expiration of his contract with Madrid. Although many of the USMNT’s top players are now plying their trade in Europe, Bale will still face several members of the squad in MLS — all good preparation for when Wales play the U.S. in their opening World Cup game on November 21.

The reconnaissance mission is on.

(Top photo: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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