Gareth Bale

Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Wales.

He is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time.

He was best known for his explosive pace, athleticism, and powerful strikes from distance.

He left school in the summer of 2005 with a Grade A in PE amongst his other GCSE results.

In his final year at school, he was awarded the PE department's prize for services to sport.

In the presentation, Morris commented: "'Gareth has a fierce determination to succeed and has the character and qualities to achieve his personal goals. He is one of the most unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure to help educate.'"

Bale made his senior international debut for Wales in May 2006, becoming the youngest player at that point to represent the nation.

He then went on to earn 111 caps and scored 41 international goals, making him Wales' most capped player and top goalscorer of all time.

On 17 April 2006, at the age of 16 years and 275 days, Bale became the second youngest player ever to play for Southampton (after Theo Walcott, who was 132 days younger) when he made his debut in the Saints' 2–0 victory against Millwall.

On 6 August, Bale scored his first league goal, a free kick, to level the score at 1–1 against Derby County.

The final score at Pride Park was 2–2.

He scored again, at St Mary's, against Coventry City in the team's second game of the 2006–07 season with another free kick.

Bale further developed his reputation as a threat on free kicks when he struck the post from one against West Bromwich Albion.

By 16 December 2006, Bale's goal count had risen to five, thanks to a late equaliser against Sunderland and free kicks away to Hull City and at home to Norwich City.

Bale began his professional career at Southampton, playing at left-back before moving to Tottenham in 2007.

In December 2006, he won the Carwyn James Award for the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year, and was named the Football League Young Player of the Year on 4 March 2007.

This capped what was described in the local press as an "incredible" first full season as a professional footballer in which he was one of the Saints' "most creative players even (though operating) from the left-back position whilst his defending improved immeasurably as the season progressed."

His final game for Southampton was in the first leg of the Championship play-off semi-final against Derby County on 12 May 2007.

Bale suffered an injury during the second half, preventing him from appearing in the second leg.

From the 2009–10 season, under the guidance of Harry Redknapp, Bale became an integral part of the team and transformed into a winger.

He went on to receive several individual honours, including two PFA Players' Player of the Year awards and three PFA Team of the Year inclusions.

In September 2013, Real Madrid signed Bale for a then 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 Copa del Rey and the Champions League, scoring in both finals.

Although Bale experienced a decrease in game time from 2015 onwards due to continual injuries, he was amongst the top three nominees for the 2015–16 UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award, scored an overhead kick in Real Madrid's 2018 UEFA Champions League Final victory, and was awarded the FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball in 2018.

He was the top scorer for Wales in their successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2016, scoring seven times; he subsequently represented Wales in the final tournament as they reached the semi-finals, scoring three goals.

In 2020–21, he returned to Tottenham on loan, before playing his final season in Madrid.

In his nine-year tenure, Bale won 15 trophies, including three La Liga titles and five Champions Leagues.

He joined MLS club Los Angeles FC in July 2022 before retiring in January 2023, aged 33.

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 was named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times.

Bale was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Frank, a school caretaker, and Debbie Bale, an operations manager.

He is the nephew of former Cardiff City footballer Chris Pike.

He attended Eglwys Newydd Primary School in Whitchurch.

It was while at this school that he first came to the attention of Southampton at age nine, when he was playing in a six-a-side tournament with his first club, Cardiff Civil Service.

Growing up, his footballing hero was fellow Welshman and Manchester United player Ryan Giggs.

Bale attended Whitchurch High School in Cardiff.

He was a keen athlete; he played football alongside future Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton, rugby, hockey and excelled at athletics.

As a 14-year-old he says that he ran the 100-metre sprint in 11.4 seconds.

Because of his superior footballing skill, the school's PE teacher, Gwyn Morris, had to write special rules which restricted Bale to playing one-touch football and not using his left foot.

Despite being only 16 at the time, Bale helped the school's under-18 team win the Cardiff & Vale Senior Cup.