He’s big like a whale, his skill will make you bite your nails, he’s from Wales, he’s got the power of a Gale and his jersey says Bale. This, ladies and gentlemen, is how we can sum up the genius of Gareth Bale. The dynamic winger is famous for shredding defences apart with his charges down the left wing and will go down as one of the most talented footballers of his generation. I’m extremely sure that most of you are familiar with his professional feats but don’t know too much about his personal side which is why I bring to you these amazing Gareth Bale facts.
The 25-year-old was born Gareth Frank Bale in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, to Frank, a school teacher and Debbie, an operations manager, on 16th July 1989. He has an elder sister named Vicky. He is also the nephew of former Cardiff City player Chris Pike.
Bale attended Whitchruch High School in his hometown and also played football for Cardiff Civil Service Football Club where his incredible skills attracted the attention of Southampton. Bale, who idolized fellow Welshman and former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs, soon signed up for Southampton where he played at left-back.
Gareth made his senior debut for Southampton on 17th April 2006 at the age of 16 years and 275 days becoming the second youngest debutant after close friend Theo Walcott. The youngster scored his first Saints goal on 6th August 2006 against Derby County from a free-kick (which is now his trademark). Bale had an incredible debut season with the Saints and picked up the BBC Wales Young Sports Personality of the Year along with the Football League Young Player of the Year for his amazing skills.
Bale was signed by Spurs, who beat of competition from Manchester United, on 25th May 2007 for a fee of £7 million. It was at Tottenham that Bale was converted into a left winger (by then manager Harry Redknapp). Bale put in several notable performances for Tottenham, especially against Inter Milan against whom he scored a hat-trick, and scored 55 goals in 203 appearances for them before leaving for Real Madrid for a fee of around £85.3 million on 1st September 2013 making him the most expensive player in the world.
Bale scored on his Los Blancos debut against Villareal and ended his debut season scoring a remarkable 22 goals in 44 appearances.
The winger is in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart Emma Rhys-Jones, who gave birth to Alba Violet on 21st October 2012. The couple lived in London during Bales time with Tottenham but shifted to Madrid after his transfer to Real.
Bale stands at 6 ft and is extremely fit with a waist size of 32. The winger’s main strength is his incredible speed along with his excellent command over the ball which allows him to score incredible goals from a variety of positions.
The winger filed an application with the Intellectual Property Office to register a logo based on his famous heart celebration along with his jersey number as he plans to market his own range of clothing and footwear. Bale loves having a good time but refrains from having alcohol as he does not like the taste of it.
Bale is sponsored by Adidas and wears their F50 range of boots on the field. Besides Adidas, Bale also has sponsorship deals with EA Sports, Lucozade and BT Sports. These endorsements earn him an estimated £10 million per year.
The 25-year-old is active on social networks and uses Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with his fans.
Bale’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bale
Bale’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/GarethBale11
I can confidently say that the midfielder is only starting to scratch the surface. A lot more is expected of him in the coming years at Madrid and judging by his recent performances, I’m sure he’ll wow us all over again.