Gareth Frank Bale was born on 16 July 1989 and is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid.
83 Facts About Gareth Bale
2.
Gareth Bale is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time.
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Gareth Bale was nominated to the PFA Team of the Year three times in a row between 2011 and 2013.
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Gareth Bale subsequently joined MLS club Los Angeles FC in July 2022 and won the Supporters' Shield and MLS Cup, before retiring in January 2023 aged 33.
5.
Gareth Bale made his senior international debut for Wales in May 2006, becoming the youngest player at that point to represent Wales.
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Gareth Bale then went on to earn 111 caps and scored 41 international goals, making him Wales' most capped player and top goalscorer of all time.
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Gareth Bale 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.
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Gareth Bale 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.
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Gareth Bale was named Welsh Footballer of the Year a record six times.
10.
Gareth Bale was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Frank, a school caretaker, and Debbie Gareth Bale, an operations manager.
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Gareth Bale is the nephew of former Cardiff City footballer Chris Pike.
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Gareth Bale was a keen athlete; he played football alongside future Wales rugby captain Sam Warburton, rugby, hockey and excelled at athletics.
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Gareth Bale left school in the summer of 2005 with a Grade A in PE amongst his other GCSE results.
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Gareth Bale is one of the most unselfish individuals that I have had the pleasure to help educate.
15.
Gareth Bale further developed his reputation as a free kick specialist when he struck the post from one against West Bromwich Albion.
16.
Gareth Bale suffered an injury during the second half, preventing him from appearing in the second leg.
17.
Gareth Bale played his first game for Spurs in a friendly against St Patrick's Athletic on 12 July 2007, but was substituted on the 80th minute with a minor dead leg.
18.
Gareth Bale went on to score against Arsenal in the North London derby from a free kick.
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Gareth Bale then scored in the League Cup home tie against Middlesbrough.
20.
On 2 December 2007, Gareth Bale was substituted after sustaining an injury resulting from a tackle from Fabrice Muamba in the league fixture against Birmingham City.
21.
Gareth Bale is obviously disappointed to be sidelined for this length of time but he is still young and we have to do what is best for him in the long run.
22.
Gareth Bale returned to fitness in August 2008, the same month he signed a new four-year deal with the club, and went on to make 30 appearances for Tottenham in all competitions that season.
23.
In June 2009, Gareth Bale underwent surgery for a knee injury, ruling him out for over two months.
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Gareth Bale was named Premier League Player of the Month for April 2010.
25.
On 5 January 2012, Gareth Bale was one of the players voted into the 2011 UEFA Team of the Year.
26.
On 27 June, Gareth Bale signed a new four-year contract, committing his future to the club until 2016.
27.
Gareth Bale's run of good form in the early months of 2013 saw him win Premier League Player of the Month for February as well as the BBC Goal of the Month in both January and February for his strikes against Norwich City and West Ham United respectively.
28.
On his return from injury, Gareth Bale scored a goal and assisted Clint Dempsey as Tottenham beat Manchester City at White Hart Lane.
29.
On 1 September 2013, Spanish club Real Madrid announced that they had reached an agreement for the transfer of Gareth Bale, signing a six-year deal in a then world record deal.
30.
The first half of Gareth Bale's season was plagued by injuries; of Real's first 16 games after his signing, Gareth Bale missed five and was substituted on or off in six others, playing only five full games.
31.
Gareth Bale scored on his Real Madrid debut, a goal coming in the 38th minute against Villarreal, before being substituted later in the game for Angel Di Maria.
32.
On 16 April, Gareth Bale scored the winning goal for Real Madrid with five minutes remaining in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final against rivals Barcelona.
33.
Gareth Bale finished his debut season with 22 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.
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Gareth Bale was defended by Carlo Ancelotti over this plus difficulties at the end of the season.
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Gareth Bale scored twice in Real's win over Real Betis in September 2015.
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Gareth Bale assisted the team's only goal and went on to score in the penalty shoot-out win over Atletico Madrid in the final.
37.
On 30 October 2016, Gareth Bale signed a new contract with Madrid until 2022.
38.
Gareth Bale featured in Real Madrid's victories in both the 2017 UEFA Super Cup and the 2017 Supercopa de Espana, and he featured in the club's victorious 2017 FIFA Club World Cup campaign, winning a third trophy before 2018 had even begun.
39.
Gareth Bale became the first substitute to score twice in a Champions League final and was named man of the match.
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Gareth Bale became the third player to score a hat-trick in a FIFA Club World Cup match after Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.
41.
Gareth Bale became the third player to score in three editions of the competition after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
42.
In October 2019, Gareth Bale was said to be "angry" at Real Madrid and wanted to leave, but later that month Zidane said Gareth Bale had never asked to leave.
43.
On 19 September 2020, Gareth Bale returned to Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan.
44.
Gareth Bale made 12 total appearances in the regular season for LAFC, starting two matches, but remained mostly unused as the club won the Supporters' Shield.
45.
Gareth Bale's goal was the latest goal in MLS history.
46.
On 9 January 2023, following the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Gareth Bale announced his retirement from professional football.
47.
At 16 years and 315 days old, Gareth Bale became the youngest player to play for Wales, breaking a record held by Lewin Nyatanga who set that three months earlier; this record was itself superseded by Harry Wilson in October 2013.
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Wales youth guru Brian Flynn commented that Gareth Bale was potentially a future star of the game, comparing his technical ability to that of Ryan Giggs.
49.
On 7 October 2006, Gareth Bale became the youngest ever goalscorer for the senior national team, scoring a free kick in a Euro 2008 qualification match against Slovakia.
50.
In December 2010, Gareth Bale was awarded the BBC Cymru Sports Personality of the Year trophy.
51.
Gareth Bale won his 100th Wales Cap during a World Cup Qualifying Match on 13 November 2021 against Belarus at the Cardiff City Stadium where he played 45 minutes being substituted at half time.
52.
Gareth Bale's goal saw him become the first Welsh player to score at a major international tournament since Terry Medwin's goal against Hungary at the 1958 FIFA World Cup.
53.
On 22 March 2018, with 29 goals, Gareth Bale became Wales' all-time top-scorer surpassing Ian Rush's 28, thanks to his first hat-trick in his international career in a 2018 China Cup match against China.
54.
In November 2022, Gareth Bale was named in the Wales squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
55.
Gareth Bale, who met the age criteria to play in the 2012 London Olympics, said in May 2011 "I want to play in the Olympics" for the Great Britain Olympic football team, in defiance of the FAW.
56.
On 28 October 2011, Gareth Bale became the first player to be photographed modelling the British 2012 London Olympics football supporters' shirt.
57.
Gareth Bale can make his own choices and make his own decisions.
58.
In view of the short recovery time between the end of the Olympics and the start of the Premier League season, Gareth Bale had decided to withdraw rather than exacerbate the problem.
59.
Between these matches, Gareth Bale played against Liverpool when he was injured in a tackle by Charlie Adam.
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Spurs' manager, Andre Villas-Boas, defended the player insisting that Gareth Bale "had recovered quicker than expected".
61.
Gareth Bale was not selected on the basis of this injury and the inability to predict recovery time.
62.
One of the fastest footballers in the world at his peak, Gareth Bale started out as an offensive left-back or wing-back at the beginning of his career.
63.
Gareth Bale was predominantly known for his speed, strength, stamina, and heading ability, but possessed good technique and ball control.
64.
Gareth Bale's skills, combined with his acceleration and physicality, allowed him to get past defenders regularly and make runs into space, where he was able to score or create.
65.
Gareth Bale was a free kick specialist, and was known for employing the "knuckleball" technique when taking free kicks.
66.
Gareth Bale had been described as a footballer with "tremendous speed, great crossing ability, a great left foot and exceptional physical qualities".
67.
Gareth Bale is one of the quickest players I've ever seen, but he has another gear and the ability to find that extra pace within the next stride.
68.
Gareth Bale has the ability to perform and use his technique at great pace.
69.
Gareth Bale is widely regarded as one of the greatest wingers of his generation, one of the greatest Welsh players of all time, and the best British player of his generation.
70.
Gareth Bale was accused of diving by sections of the British media.
71.
Gareth Bale was ranked twelfth on ESPN's list of the world's most famous athletes in 2016, while The Guardian listed him as the seventh-best footballer on the planet in the same year.
72.
On 17 July 2016, Gareth Bale announced he and Rhys-Jones were engaged.
73.
On 9 March 2018, Gareth Bale announced that he and his fiancee were expecting their third child.
74.
Gareth Bale was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to association football and charity.
75.
On 26 March 2013, Gareth Bale filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office to register a logo based on his heart shaped goal celebration along with his squad number to be used on a range of merchandise such as clothing and footwear.
76.
Gareth Bale is featured in EA Sports' FIFA video game series, and he has appeared on the British, Irish and Middle Eastern covers of FIFA 14, alongside global cover star Lionel Messi.
77.
Gareth Bale has endorsed several companies in his career and has current deals with Adidas, EA Sports, Lucozade and BT Sport.
78.
In 2014, Gareth Bale was the first player to wear the Adidas F50 crazylight football boots.
79.
Active on social media, Gareth Bale has over 45 million Instagram followers, and earns $185,000 per sponsored post, the second highest-paid Briton after David Beckham.
80.
In November 2014, Gareth Bale appeared in FIFA's "11 against Ebola" campaign with a selection of top football players from around the world, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Xavi and African star Didier Drogba.
81.
Gareth Bale's golf playing became somewhat controversial in his latter years at Real Madrid, with the perception that Bale was more interested in his hobby than football.
82.
El Confidencial cited golf as the reason why Gareth Bale spent so much time out injured, claiming it worsened his back problems.
83.
Gareth Bale was interviewed in Episode 179 of The Erik Anders Lang Show podcast, in which he said his golf handicap was "between a three and a four".