Soccer

Gareth Bale completes dream move to Real Madrid

The Spanish club paid €100 million to secure the services of the Welshman

Gareth Bale (L) of Wales hold his new Real Madrid soccer club jersey accompanied by president Florentino Perezat the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Photograph: Paul Hanna/Reuters
Gareth Bale (L) of Wales hold his new Real Madrid soccer club jersey accompanied by president Florentino Perezat the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid. Photograph: Paul Hanna/Reuters
Mon Sept 02 2013 - 11:41

Gareth Bale has been presented as a Real Madrid player after completing his record-breaking move from Tottenham.

Bale flew to the Spanish capital on Monday morning after Madrid ended more than two months of speculation, gossip and negotiation on Sunday night by announcing they had agreed a deal – thought to be worth €100m (£85.3m) – with Spurs for the 24-year-old.

The Wales international successfully passed his medical before signing a six-year contract with the Spanish giants, where he will link up with Cristiano Ronaldo, who in 2009 became the most expensive player in the world when Real signed him from Manchester United for £80m.

After putting pen to paper on his Madrid contract, Bale was officially unveiled to fans at the Bernabéu during a presentation that also saw club president Florentino Pérez welcome the forward to the nine-time European champions.

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Bale, who will wear the No11 shirt at Madrid, also spoke to his new supporters, including a message in Spanish where he said: “Hello, it’s a dream for me to play for Real Madrid. Thank you for the great welcome. Go Madrid!”

Asked about the transfer fee and what pressure he felt, Bale said at a press conference on Monday afternoon: “It’s as much pressure as I put on myself. I wanted to come here and play the best football and I’m going to give 100 per cent and try to help the team to win things.

“The transfer (fee)had nothing to do with me – that’s between Real Madrid and Tottenham. I wanted to come here whether it was for a penny or whatever it cost.”

Although he has replaced Ronaldo as the most expensive transfer in history, Bale still believes the Portugal international is the leading player on the planet. He also revealed the former United star was a big reason why he wanted to join Madrid.

“Cristiano, for me, is the best player in the world. He’s a massive factor in why I wanted to come here. It comes no better than him and it’ll be an honour to play with him and we’ll have a great team and hopefully win a lot of things together,” he said.

“I don’t think I need to help him (Ronaldo)because he’s already proved he’s the best in the world.”